From the ‘Oh, But We Support the Troops’ (Yeah, Right) Department

Back in March, Brian at One Oar in the Water referenced this article from Military.com about mine-resistant trucks that started out as follows:

A new combat truck with a V-shaped bottom designed to withstand blasts from roadside bombs is performing with such success in Iraq that the U.S. military is pressing a Wisconsin company and others to churn out hundreds more in the coming months.
About 200 prototypes of the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles have been deployed in Iraq since 2004, said Capt. Jeff Landis, spokesman for the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va. No Marine has died while in one of the trucks, Landis said.

“This is the best vehicle available for safety and survivability,” he said. “The MRAP vehicle supplies troops with the greatest protection we’ve had.

Now, Brian notes, it appears that these vehicles, long overdue for deployment in Iraq, are going to be delayed yet again thanks to Congressional gamesmanship. It was a concern of the White House a month ago (about 1/3 of the way through the page):

Last Week, The Defense Department Notified Congress That In Order To Meet The Force Protection Needs Of The Marine Corps And The Army, It Is Borrowing Funds From Other Important Marine And Army Procurement Programs. This borrowing means using funding intended for medium tactical vehicle replacement, Humvees and Humvee equipment, the tactical communications modernization program, and upgrades for other vehicles.

This Reprogramming Of Funds Is Only Necessary Because Congress Has Failed To Act In A Timely Manner On The President’s Emergency Funding Request. This underscores the need to get the President a bill he can sign that provides what the troops and military commanders need.

As “the surge” ramps up, that concern surely hasn’t gone away.

So which soldiers who could have been riding into danger in vehicles with the best IED defenses available, instead will be needlessly vulnerable, and indeed may die in the name of pleasing the nutroots?

Congressional diddling has consequences. The least the Left can do is drop the “we support the troops” riff.

Oh, and of course you won’t read about this negligence in any Old Media coverage.