A funny thing is happening in the Iraq war, and it is exactly the reverse of the American experience in WWII. The Army and Marines are running out of equipment. I'm not talking about exotic, high-tech equipment; I mean the basic trucks, tanks, and Hummvees that provide the backbone of ground combat power in Iraq. Unlike the staggering increases in production of military vehicles in WWII, our defense industry is falling behind in replenishing the much more modest equipment needs of a 140,000 soldier force in Iraq. Why this strange discrepancy? The one word answer is corruption. Here's how I think it has happened.
The BushCo gang operates like a crime family. Junior members are posted throughout the Federal government to "take care of business." A key business mechanism of the Bush mob is rewarding political contributors. If a maker of military trucks donates a large amount of money to BushCo, the performance of that truck producer will not be scrutinized by the Pentagon. A BushCo gangster at a desk in the Pentagon will stop any investigation of this company and block any punitive action. The same goes for a vehicle maintenance contractor or a repair parts supplier. As long as the payments keep flowing to BushCo, the fix is in. The contractor can easily find excuses for delays and shortfalls, and any military officer foolish enough to demand an investigation will find his career abruptly terminated by a BushCo commissar in the DoD.
The situation is like the military logistics equivalent of Katrina, except that, instead of losing a city, we are at risk of losing an army in Iraq. If the exponentially spreading rot of contractor corruption cripples our ground forces, our soldiers are literally going to have to walk out of Iraq. There is no shortage of money, and there is no question of need. American factories have plenty of spare capacity, and there are lots of willing workers. Our soldiers in Iraq are running out of equipment because our government is led by corrupt men who have extended their corruption to even the most vital areas of our defense establishment.
Representative Waxman, take heed.