|
|
BALDWIN QUESTIONS GUARD, RESERVE DEPLOYMENTS
Wednesday, January 12th, 2005 -- 11:07 am
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin says increasing reliance on Guard and Reserve troops in Iraq is unfair and inappropriate.
"Unfair" is the word the Madison Democrat initially used, talking about the large numbers of National Guard and Reserve troops serving in the Bush administration's war in Iraq. It's something Baldwin contends was never really planned for.
"I don't think this administration knew what they were getting into," she told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. Baldwin later restated her choice of the word "unfair," and said the massive Guard and Reserve deployments are "inappropriate," but she still laid the blame at the feet of the administration.
"Because they miscalculated (troop levels needed in Iraq) so significantly, I believe they've had to place greater and greater reliance on the Guard and the Reserve," she said, adding that the commitment of Guard and Reserve troops should have been the subject of debate by Congress.
"We sort of backed into this, because of the lack of planning of this administration. The fact that it hasn't been thoroughly considered, and we just find ourselves in this circumstance, I think is inappropriate." Baldwin said the deployments, in some cases second deployments to Iraq, are placing strains on families back home. She also worried about the commitment to provide longterm care to soldiers who are grievously injured in Iraq.
|
|
|
VIEW OUR ARCHIVE
|
|
