"Congress’s failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines."
Of course it should be clear to anyone paying attention that if the House and the Senate agree on a bill and Bush vetoes it then it is Bush who is "failing to fund the troops" and not Congress, but that's another story.
More interesting is this news from the Pentagon today:
“Tours of duty for members of the U.S. Army will be extended from 12 months to 15 months effective immediately.”
There was some nonsense mentioned in this article about how this is good for the troops because it allows them to “sit around a dinner table and know on such-and-such a date.” I don't know about you, but I'd much rather come home on an unknown date after 12 months than a set date after 15 months, but that's also another story.
I think Rahm Emanuel (D-Il) says it very well here:
“What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, extending tours of duty was ‘unacceptable’ to the President. Today, it is Pentagon policy. American troops and taxpayers are paying the price for a war with no end in sight.”
The President's rhetoric is so hollow at this point that he sees nothing wrong with contradicting himself on successive days. What's worse, he sees nothing wrong with abusing our already rundown military, and asking even more of our already overloaded troops.
