Bush to propose cutting Guard and Reserves

Um, I thought we were at war:

President Bush will use his new budget to propose cutting the size of the Army Reserve to its lowest level in three decades and stripping up to $4 billion next year from two fighter aircraft programs.

Under the plan, the authorized troop strength of the Army Reserve would drop from 205,000 – the current number of slots it is allowed – to 188,000, the number of soldiers it had at the end of 2005. Because of recruiting and other problems, the Army Reserve has been unable to fill its ranks to its authorized level.

Army leaders have already said they are taking a similar approach to shrinking the National Guard, which the Army is proposing to cut from its authorized level of 350,000 soldiers to 333,000, the number now on National Guard rolls.

Now I’m not going to weigh in on the fighter craft issue, since it involves some money juggling that might get our Air Force more F-22s in the long run. Considering the problems in Iraq and the shortages of manpower displayed by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I have to ask…what are they thinking?!?

Or, as one blogger said on AMERICAblog:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Because you can’t recruit (oh, I wonder why?) your answer is to CUT the size of the military at a time war? WTF!! Tax cuts stay, we don’t need more money in a time of war!

Of course, this could be overreacting. After all, no less of an American than Tom “the Hammer” DeLay (indictments? what indictments?) maintained a vital perspective on this issue:

DeLay also said it was Congress’ duty in a time of war to significantly cut taxes. “Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes,” he said.

And thus we clearly see the face of the modern GOP. Nothing is more important than reducing the tax “burden” of the rich. Not security, not stability, not liberty, not justice, not even the centerpiece of their party platform for the past several years, the “War on Terror.” Then again, I suppose this represents Bush “staying the course” on his relationship with the National Guard.

The Blue Phoenix
It’s time to rise

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