Surging empty-handed

The cost of the war (and now the cost of the surge) continues to be borne by the few. This from today's NYT:

The Pentagon is planning to send more than 14,000 National Guard troops back to Iraq next year, shortening their time between deployments to meet the demands of President Bush’s buildup, Defense Department officials said Wednesday. [...]

Changing the reservists’ schedules means abandoning previous promises that they would get several years between deployments. And the acceleration means that soldiers who usually drill just once a month and for a few weeks in the summer will have to begin intensive preparations right away.

In addition to this quick turnaround some of these soldiers are lacking the rifles, night vision goggles, and other equipment needed for the fight. George Bush and the GOP support the troops with rhetoric only (and John Murtha is the one being smeared). Our national disgrace continues.

Update: More disgrace from The Politico.com:

In a move sure to provide ammunition to congressional critics of the Iraq war, military commanders have given Congress a long list of equipment and reconstruction needs totaling nearly $36 billion, denied earlier by the administration in its $481 billion defense appropriations request for the new fiscal year.