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White House Admits U.S. Leader In Iraq Wanted More Troops

POSTED: 3:00 pm EST January 9, 2006
UPDATED: 3:23 pm EST January 9, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has acknowledged that its top civilian official in Iraq once called for tripling U.S. forces there.
In a new book, Paul Bremer -- who headed the U.S.-led coalition for 13 months -- says he urged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in May 2004 to deploy 500,000 troops.
But White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Bremer's view was just one among many and ultimately, it was left to U.S. commanders to decide.
Administration critics -- including some leading lawmakers -- were outspoken in saying a much bigger U.S. contingent was needed to put down the insurgency.
source: www.wesh.com
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DNC: Pentagon Study Links Fatalities to Body Armor
1/9/2006 3:20:00 PM

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The New York Times this weekend published a report on a secret Pentagon study showing that approximately 300 hundred American soldiers killed in combat in Iraq could have survived if the Pentagon had provided them with sufficient body armor, the Democratic National Committee said today. The report found that up to 80 percent of the Marines killed from upper torso wounds could have been saved if troops had been provided with additional protection that commanders in the field began requesting "almost from the beginning" of the war.
The report also found that, because the Pentagon failed to provide the requested body armor, troops desperate for protection began "hanging their crotch protectors under their arms" and buying their own sets as early as early as Fall 2003.
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The following is an excerpt from the article:
Pentagon Study Links Fatalities to Body Armor
By Michael Moss
New York Times
January 7, 2006
A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials.
The ceramic plates in vests now worn by the majority of troops in Iraq cover only some of the chest and back. In at least 74 of the 93 fatal wounds that were analyzed in the Pentagon study of marines from March 2003 through June 2005, bullets and shrapnel struck the marines' shoulders, sides or areas of the torso where the plates do not reach.
Thirty-one of the deadly wounds struck the chest or back so close to the plates that simply enlarging the existing shields "would have had the potential to alter the fatal outcome," according to the study, which was obtained by The New York Times.
For the full report, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/07/politics/07armor.html?8bl
source: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=59026
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Sen. Clinton seeks inquiry into body armor study
January 9, 2006, 2:38 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Congress Monday to re-examine the Pentagon's standards for soldiers' body armor in Iraq, after a new study found most fatal torso wounds to Marines would have been prevented or minimized with more protection.
The New York Democrat said the as-yet-unreleased report by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner should spur greater scrutiny by the Senate Armed Service Committee and the investigative arm of Congress.
The results of the study were disclosed last week. It examined 93 fatal wounds to Marines from the start of the Iraq war in March 2003 through June 2005. The study concluded most of those injuries might have been prevented or minimized if they had been wearing improved body armor.
"With U.S. troops risking their lives daily in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, we owe it to them to make sure they have the best equipment possible," Clinton wrote to committee chairman John Warner.
The study found that of the 93 Marines who suffered fatal injuries, 74 of them were bullet or shrapnel wounds to shoulders or torso areas unprotected by traditional ceramic armor plating.
The report highlights the debate, even within the military, about how much armor troops should be wearing. Some soldiers complain the current armor reduces their mobility, and say they would rather wear less, not more.

source: www.newsday.com
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U.S. Soldiers Question Use of More Armor
By RYAN LENZ
Associated Press Writer

January 8, 2006, 12:43 AM EST

BEIJI, Iraq -- U.S. soldiers in the field were not all supportive of a Pentagon study that found improved body armor saves lives, with some troops arguing Saturday that more armor would hinder combat effectiveness.
The unreleased study examined 93 fatal wounds to Marines from the start of the Iraq war in March 2003 through June 2005. It concluded 74 of them were bullet or shrapnel wounds to shoulders or torso areas unprotected by traditional ceramic armor plating.
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade "Rakkasans" are required to wear an array of protective clothing they refer to as their "happy gear," ranging from Kevlar drapes over their shoulders and sides, to knee pads and fire-resistant uniforms.
But many soldiers say they feel encumbered by the weight and restricted by fabric that does not move as they do. They frequently joke as they strap on their equipment before a patrol, and express relief when they return and peel it off.
Second Lt. Josh Suthoff, 23, of Jefferson City, Mo., said he already sacrifices enough movement when he wears the equipment. More armor would only increase his chances of getting killed, he said.
"You can slap body armor on all you want, but it's not going to help anything. When it's your time, it's your time," said Suthoff, a platoon leader in the brigade's 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment. "I'd go out with less body armor if I could."
The study and their remarks highlight the difficulty faced by the Army and Marine Corps in providing the best level of body armor protection in a war against an insurgency whose tactics are constantly changing.
Both the Army and the Marines have weighed the expected payoff in additional safety from extra armor against the measurable loss of combat effectiveness from too much armor.
According to a summary of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner's study obtained Friday evening by The Associated Press, the 93 Marines who died from a primary lethal injury of the torso were among 401 Marines who died from combat injuries in Iraq between the start of the war and June 2005.
A military advocacy group, Soldiers for Truth, posted an article about the study on its Web site this week. On Friday evening, The New York Times reported in its online edition that the study for the first time shows the cost in lives lost from inadequate armor.
Autopsy reports and photographic records were analyzed to help the military determine possible body armor redesign.
Of 39 fatal torso wounds in which the bullet or shrapnel entered the Marine's body outside of the ceramic armor plate protecting the chest and back, 31 were close to the plate's edge, according to the study, which was conducted last summer.
Some soldiers felt unhappy that ceramic plates to protect their sides and shoulders were available, but not offered, when they deployed for Iraq in September.
"If it's going to protect a soldier or save his life, they definitely should have been afforded the opportunity to wear it," said Staff Sgt. Shaun Benoit, 26, of Conneaut, Ohio. "I want to know where there was a break in communication."
Others questioned the effectiveness of additional body armor.
"It's the Army's responsibility to get soldiers the armor they need. But that doesn't mean those deaths could have been prevented," said Spc. Robert Reid, 21, of Atlanta.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who was in Iraq on Saturday, said military leaders told him that body armor has improved since the initial invasion in 2003 and that the military hoped to gradually transition to the improved armor.
The debate between protection versus mobility has dominated military doctrine since the Middle Ages, when knights wrapped themselves in metal suits for battle, said Capt. Jamey Turner, 35, of Baton Rouge, La., a commander in the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment.
The issue comes up daily on the battlefield in Iraq, and soldiers need to realize there is no such thing as 100 percent protection, he said.
"You've got to sacrifice some protection for mobility," he added. "If you cover your entire body in ceramic plates, you're just not going to be able to move."
Others in the regiment said the issue of protecting soldiers with more body armor is of greater concern at home than among soldiers in Iraq, who have seen firsthand how life and death hang on a sliver of luck when an improvised explosive device hits a Humvee.
"These guys over here are husbands, sons and daughters. It's understandable people at home would want all the protection in the world for us. But realistically, it just don't work," said Sgt. Paul Hare, 40, of Tucumcari, N.M.
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AP Military Writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this
source: http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-iraq-body-armor,0,2973731.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines