New Kerry email (with petition)

[whometense]

http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/rumsfeld2.php

Dear Diane,

I have just come back from Iraq. After several months consumed by thecampaign trail, I wanted to make contact with our soldiers on the groundthere. The first thing I want you to know is that, in very difficultcircumstances, our brave soldiers are serving America with enormous skilland great courage.

In the Senate, we have a duty during times like these to hold our DefenseDepartment accountable for the well-being of our troops. It's one of the waysthat our democracy makes our military the strongest in the world. And Ican't tell you how comforting it is as a soldier to know even if you don'thave a say over your own situation, the folks back home do.

I knew our soldiers were still facing hold ups getting the equipment theyneed, but I wanted to see it for myself. American troops deserve the bestgear and equipment we can provide. But adequate vehicle armor remains inshort supply.

A soldier who spoke up about these problems was told by Defense SecretaryRumsfeld, "you have to go to war with the army you have, not the army youwant."1 Well, it's been over two years since Rumsfeld plannedthis war. And whether he has the army he wants or not, he should at leasthave basic armor for army vehicles.

I'll say this in the Senate, but I'm asking you to add your voice tomine:

"President Bush, for the sake of our troops, replace Rumsfeldnow."

http://www.johnkerry.com/replacerumsfeld

More than 500,000 called for Rumsfeld to resign during the presidentialcampaign. I'm renewing my call now -- please renew yours too, and forwardthis email to friends to bring them on board. Add your name to mine here,and add your voice to mine by speaking out in your community as I will do inthe US Senate for as long as it takes to remove Secretary Rumsfeld from hispost:

http://www.johnkerry.com/replacerumsfeld

It's a question of competence. Poor planning at the Pentagon is lettingAmerican soldiers down. According to the National Intelligence Council, theCIA director's think tank, Iraq is now providing the next generation of"professionalized" terrorists with "a training ground, a recruitment ground, the opportunity for enhancing technical skills."2 Our troops needa capable Secretary of Defense. At the very least, they absolutely needthat.

I believe that together, the three million of us who worked together onthe campaign can help the troops. We not only have a right to speak outagainst failed Bush policies: we have a duty to defend this country from aPresident who refuses to recognize the total inadequacy of his own DefenseSecretary. That's how democracy works. And that's why America has worked allthese years.

The campaign season is over, but our citizenship continues. I know frompersonal experience that citizens and Senators standing up for the truth canbe a powerful combination. Now, with email and the Web as citizenshiptools, we can make ourselves heard even more clearly. And I can't tell youhow inspired I am that you and I are using these tools to fight side-by-sidefor the things we believe in.

One more time: please join me in my call for President Bush to fireDonald Rumsfeld. He's the man responsible for the well-being of our troops.He's neglected his duty. He's made excuses. It's time for him to go.

Add your voice to mine in the Senate in calling for President Bush toreplace Rumsfeld today.


http://www.johnkerry.com/replacerumsfeld

Thank you,

John Kerry.

WHY RUMSFELD HAS TO GO!

1) Rumsfeld Blamed The Troops for Problems in IRAQ

Rumsfeld: "As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want."

2) Rumsfeld Admitted Bush Administration Was Not Prepared for IraqiResistance

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that "I am sayingthat -- if you had said to me a year ago, 'describe the situation you'll bein today, one year later,' I don't know many people who would have describedit -- I would not have described it -- the way it happens to be today. ... Icertainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number ofindividuals lost that we have had lost in the last week."

3) Rumsfeld Failed to Equip Troops in Iraq

Army Study Suggests One-Fourth of Casualties in Iraq Could Have BeenPrevented If Troops Were Properly-Equipped at Beginning of War. Newsweekreported, "A breakdown of the casualty figures suggests that many U.S.deaths and wounds in Iraq simply did not need to occur. According to anunofficial study by a defense consultant that is now circulating through theArmy, of a total of 789 Coalition deaths as of April 15 (686 of themAmericans), 142 were killed by land mines or improvised explosive devices,while 48 others died in rocket-propelled-grenade attacks. Almost all thosesoldiers were killed while in unprotected vehicles, which means that perhapsone in four of those killed in combat in Iraq might be alive if they had hadstronger armor around them, the study suggested. Thousands more who wereunprotected have suffered grievous wounds, such as the loss of limbs."

4) Rumsfeld Failed to Plan for Iraq War

In August 2003, the Joint Chiefs of Staff prepared a secret reportassessing the post-war planning for Iraq. The report blamed "setbacks inIraq on a flawed and rushed war-planning process." It also said "plannerswere not given enough time" to plan for reconstruction.

5) Rumsfeld Failed To Sign Condolence Letters to Families of SoldiersKilled in War on Terror

ABC World News Tonight, "Now on the home fronthere, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is under fire from some militaryfamilies and members of the Congress. They're upset that he has used amachine to attach his signature to some letters of condolence. More than athousand of those letters have been sent to families who have lost sons anddaughters in the global war on terror." ABC (Yang) added, "After IvanMedina's twin brother Irving an Army Specialist was killed in Baghdad lastyear he got a letter of condolence from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.Today, Medina himself a veteran of Iraq said he was angered to learn thatRumsfeld never actually signed the letter or even saw it." Medina: "Ourcommanders here in the United States who include the President and theSecretary of Defense don't care about the troops. We're just a number tothem and that's the wrong message to send back to our troops." Yang: "In astatement Rumsfeld said he used a machine."

Notes:

1. MSNBC, January 13, 2005

2. CNN, December 9, 2004




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