With the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq in December, the Department of Defense is giving away
BILLIONS of dollars worth of equipment.
To be given away are bases that cost us $2.4 billion, vehicles and spare ammunition. The US had
given away $247 million dollars worth of equipment between Sept. 1, 2010 and August of this year.
That is in addition to $157 million that had been handed out before the withdrawal began.
Another $110.5 million dollars of "excess defense items" to include battle armor, vehicles, and
weapons will be given to the Iraqis when the pullout is complete.
The US has always left behind equipment and bases when a war ended. The claim is that it
would cost too much to bring it back home, where it belongs. And then continue to buy
new equipment at inflated prices, and a huge waste of taxpayers money.
Compared to this giveaway, the cost of a Cold War Service Medal (which the CBO estimates
at $13 million over 5 years) is so miniscule as to be ridiculous.
How long will Cold War Veterans have to wait to be recognized? How long must we wait to
be remembered? Will these veterans ever receive the honor and respect they deserve?
Tell Congress to say yes on S.402 and H.R. 1968, and pass the National Defense Authorization
Act 2012 with SEC. 588 intact to authorize a Cold War Service Medal; this year marks the
20th anniversary of the end of the Cold War. Do It Now.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
----------------
"And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades."
-- Robert M. Gates, 1996
No comments:
Post a Comment