"Brig. Gen. Oscar Hilman, commander of the 81st, has asked for an additional 500 to 700 soldiers to provide more patrols. But he said his requests had been denied.
"Because the enemy is persistent, we need additional forces here. We asked twice," said Hilman, of Tacoma. He said he was told that "there are no additional forces" and that U.S. soldiers were needed elsewhere, particularly to battle insurgent forces or cover a large area that fans to the north and includes the embattled cities of Tikrit and Samarra." From: 'State Guard unit's pleas rejected despite barrage'
George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld always defend the troop levels in Iraq by saying that the commanders on the ground aren't asking for any more troops. Besides the question of whether Bush and Rumsfeld are in charge of troop levels or whether they CAN'T POSSIBLY over rule these ground commanders, the fact is that there ARE commanders on the ground in Iraq asking for more troops, and not getting them. Is the problem that these requests are cut off before they get to the top of the command chain? That would ALSO be a strike against the administrations leadership, if commanders higher in the chain are afraid to ask for more help. The management of our forces in Iraq is a disgrace. Every patriotic American should be outraged that our soldiers are paying the price for incompetence at the highest levels of command (in case you are missing my point, I am referring to the Commander-In-Chief).
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