Sen. Clinton Says Lack of Body Armor is 'Unforgivable' (Barf Alert)

ABC News ^ | Jan. 10, 2006

[Kaslin]

She Has Called for an Investigation Into Why Soldiers Are Not Fully Protected

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called the Bush administration "incompetent" when it came to protecting the troops in combat and called the lack of adequate body armor for soldiers and Marines "unforgivable."

So far in Iraq, more than 2,100 American troops have been killed. Critics like Clinton, D-N.Y., say that many of these deaths are the result of inadequate body armor. A secret Pentagon study of 93 Marines who were killed in Iraq found that 74 died after they were hit by a bullet or shrapnel in the torso or shoulders — areas unprotected by the armor most are issued.

"We perhaps could have avoided so many of these fatalities with the right body armor," said Clinton, who recently wrote letters to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee; and Francis J. Harvey, secretary of the Army, calling for an investigation into why troops were not being protected.

[steelcurtain]

Of course she cares about the troops. Deeply. Can't you see the compassion in her eyes?

It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that Sen. Hildebeaste really, really cares.

[Casloy]

I wore one of those vests for a year. There is a tradeoff between protection and mobility. The theory of the armor is to protect your vital organs. Obviously, your face can't be protected without making you an ineffective soldier, and to make a helmet that is bulletproof may not currently be feasible given the weight issues. Absolutely no one ever promised me I couldn't be killed if I was wearing a vest. On the other hand, I know several people who survived uninjured because their armor completely stopped a round or shrapnel. If this armor is so ineffective then why are insurgent snipers making headshots? Clinton, having absolutely no concept of military tactics, is one of those who thinks you can eliminate death in war through technology.

[MozarkDawg]

Far be it from me to point out the mandates of the Constitution to a sitting US senator, wife of a former president who has a law degree and all, but ...

Constitution of The United States, Article I, Section 8:

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

[mrs tiggywinkle]

Chelsea and Hillary referred to the Secret Service as 'trained pigs'. Hillary despised the presence of any military uniform in the White House.

[angkor]

Body armor is hot and heavy and restricts movement.

Even as civvies in Iraq, we had to wear armor while on alert (unless inside a hardened building).

It is definitely hot and heavy, esp. with the ceramic plates front and back.

A very bad but memorable week was when the base CO made us wear armor for 7-days nonstop. He apparently was P.O.'d that some soldiers were slacking with their armor, so everyone was barred from the PX, the chow halls, MWR, etc. unless wearing body armor.

I pulled my ceramic plates, but it was still a sweaty slog walking that 1+ mile to the office.

[Riley]

Clinton, having absolutely no concept of military tactics, is one of those who thinks you can eliminate death in war through technology.

She's doing this for entirely political reasons. She couldn't care less about American troops in the field. This is all political posturing and resume padding.

[elephant]

Who was the Senator that voted for this War but did not vote for the money to FUND the war? "I voted for it before I voted against it."

[MikefromOhio]

Here we go:

This is what the basic vest looks like (sorry for the large picture)



The vest in and of itself isn't that bad. It's a bit heavy, but you get used to it right quick. But then add the plates which look simliar to this picture:



You are talking some real weight now. I hated wearing that damned thing when I was in Iraq and I most assuredly WASN'T trying to run down the Jihadis in it. Add to that your Kevlar, your rifle, ammunition and other stuff, some of our guys are really weighted down going into battle. This needs to be revisited and redesigned IMO.

[Abathar]

Hillary's heart is so cold that even on a warm summer day her left nipple could cut glass. This is nothing but politics, pure and simple. Her husband could have had that armor issued long before we went to war also, but it wasn't in the budget then, was it?

[kAcknor]

A secret Pentagon study of 93 Marines who were killed in Iraq found that 74 died after they were hit by a bullet or shrapnel in the torso or shoulders — areas unprotected by the armor most are issued.

So bogus. If we placed them into a tank (Full armor) but they had to pop their heads up to see, the 'secret study' would show that 78 of 93 died from a head wound.

Using today's technology, armor that can protect the entire upper body as they wish to see would have the effect of restricting movement.

Let's suppose a new breakthrough and the head torso and shoulders can now all be protected. It STILL would not cause Hillary (an ilk) from claiming that somebody died from a leg wound that punctured an artery.

[Casloy]

This is all political posturing and resume padding.

Well, yes, because that is all she does. It's all about power.

[Condor51]

the lack of adequate body armor for soldiers and Marines "unforgivable."

Gee... 'senator', how about they dress like this:

[MikefromOhio]

They aren't wearing the entire body suit in Iraq.

Just the top vest with plates.

They have mostly knee and elbow pads, but it isn't armor.

It wouldn't do anything anyway.....

[finnman69]

They aren't wearing the entire body suit in Iraq. Just the top vest with plates. They have mostly knee and elbow pads, but it isn't armor. It wouldn't do anything anyway.....

I know that, but this is what Hillary expects the soldiers should be wearing.

[MikefromOhio]

ok :)

just making sure :)

[TomGuy]

I don't trust politicians to design armor for the battlefield any more than I trust them to design medical insurance to fit my needs.

O Ye of little faith.

See how good of a job they did on CFR. And illegal immigration. And steriods in baseball. And keeping us from being annoyed while surfing the Internet: Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.

===

[I cringe every time I hear McCain say he plans to introduce a bill about ___ . At least with John Kerry's "I have a plan...", we knew he really didn't.]

[grobdriver]

"We perhaps could have avoided so many of these fatalities with the right body armor,"
Her idea of "right body armor" would encase our guys in kevlar and probably get more killed.

What 16th century battle was it where France's knights were lured onto a boggy field, their horses couldn't stand and the knights, once unmounted, couldn't move with the weight of their armor and were slaughtered to a man?

[Riley]

That sort of thing is exactly why I saw the Federal Government 'shutdowns' of years past as a good thing and resumption of 'doing the people's business' as a bad one.

[BadAndy]

"Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called the Bush administration "incompetent" when it came to protecting the troops in combat and called the lack of adequate body armor for soldiers and Marines "unforgivable."

I guess "incompetant" also applies to FDR, Truman and Johnson. Gulf war soldiers have vastly more body armor and armored vehicles now than in past wars.

[TChris]

But Hillary, if American troops are protected with body armor, won't they just murder more innocent freedom fighters? Where's your sense of fairness and balance?

</painful sarcasm>