“U.S. Senator Chris Dodd demanded answers on military preparedness from Donald Rumsfeld, describing the defense secretary as “cavalier” in his response to a soldier who said troops in Iraq are reduced to scavenging for materials with which to protect their vehicles.
… Rumsfeld yesterday told U.S. soldiers in Kuwait who are part of the military coalition in neighboring Iraq that “you have to go to war with the Army you have.” He was replying to Army Specialist Thomas Wilson, who asked, “Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?”” Bloomberg
By the way. if Spec. Wilson is, as described in press coverage, “a disgruntled soldier,” there were hundreds or thousands gathered to hear Rumsfeld. What most of the media clips of this interchange did not include was the rousing wolf-whistles and cheers that went up from the assembled masses in response to his insolent question.
