FIGHTING DEMS NEWS SERVICE
foreign policy * national security * military & veterans
affairs
January 31, 2007
Vol. 2
No. 3
THE NEWS
HEADLINES
Remobilization
Of Guard And Reserve Members
Surge
Plan Relying On Subversives?
Skelton:
Surge Costs Unacceptable
Equipment
Shortages Still Plague Troops
Short &
Sweet
THE OP/ED
HEADLINES
Where
In The World Is Bob Filner?
Joe
Wilson Vindicated
Members
Of Guard, Reserve Need Not Apply
The
Southern Insurgents
About
Fighting Dems News Service
THE
ARTICLE SUMMARIES AND LINKS
REMOBILIZATION
OF GUARD AND RESERVE MEMBERS
Hundreds of thousands of National Guard and Reserve troops who had previously
been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are now subject to recall and being sent
back for more tours under President Bush's Iraq troop "surge" plan.
FDNS Report At: http://tinyurl.com/yvpz8t
SURGE
PLAN RELYING ON SUBERSIVES?
President Bush's Iraq troop surge plan may be relying on an Iraqi organization
the Iraq Study Group (ISG) described as "incompetent, dysfunctional and
subversive."
FDNS Report At: http://tinyurl.com/2fbl8n
SKELTON:
SURGE COSTS UNACCEPTABLE
The threats to military readiness, increased strategic risks and harm to the
troops and their families' morale are costs of President Bush's troop surge
plan that are too high to pay, said Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) and Chairman of the
House Armed Services Committee last week.
FDNS Report At: http://tinyurl.com/2pnqhj
EQUIPMENT
SHORTAGES STILL PLAGUE TROOPS
After nearly four years of war in Iraq troops are still being handicapped by
critical equipment shortages according to a recent Defense Department Inspector
General's Office audit.
FDNS Report At: http://tinyurl.com/2rjqlh
SHORT
& SWEET
Congressional
Vietnam Vets Divided Over Surge
There are
18 Vietnam veterans in the Senate and House and they are pretty much equally
divided over the surge and, with two exceptions, the split is along party lines
according to a USA Today poll.
Eight
Democrats and one Republican oppose the troop increase while seven Republicans
and one Democrat support the surge plan while one Republican did not respond to
the survey.
The two who
broke party ranks were Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of
Nebraska who opposes the surge and Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia who
supports the troop increase.
Feisty
Freshman
Nothing
timid about the new crop of freshman Democrats in Congress and they will be no
shrinking violets in 2008 when many of the them will be singled out and
targeted by the GOP, reports the National Journal.
Most won in
districts that had supported Republicans and President Bush in 2004 but they
have no intent to "soften" their opposition to Bush's policies.
THE OP/ED SUMMARIES AND LINKS
WHERE IN THE
WORLD IS BOB FILNER?
The new House Vets' Chair appears to be "MIA" on Capitol Hill. No
Committee hearings, staff firings and lack of communication spur insiders to
ask: Is Filner doing the job? Harsher critics ask: Can Filner do the job?
Guest Column By Larry Scott At: http://tinyurl.com/376jmn
JOE
WILSON VINDICATED
The Bush/Cheney acolytes keen on smearing Joe Wilson took a couple of gut shots
at the Scooter Libby trial today. One of the documents released to the public
confirms Wilson's account of how he came to be sent to Niger, what he found,
and what he reported to CIA debriefers.
Commentary By Larry C. Johnson At: http://tinyurl.com/yufuzz
MEMBERS
OF GUARD, RESERVE NEED NOT APPLY
The drawn out war in Iraq and the resulting reliance on the National Guard and
Reserves is contributing to wide-spread employment discrimination against Guard
and Reserve members.
Guest Column By Paul Connors At: http://tinyurl.com/2d33de
THE
SOUTHERN INSURGENTS
An essay this weekend at The Daily Kos,
"Sweeping Jim Webb Under the Rug," brings out what I have been
feeling all week: That we crossed a river in this country with Jim Webb's
rebuttal of the President's State of the Union. Jim Webb is Pathfinder to a new
political country. His speech was very possibly the first important event in
the new century.
Commentary By Bernie Quigley At: http://tinyurl.com/2myhzk