Body Armor -- "No Thanks"

Hillary Clinton "called the Bush administration 'incompetent' when it came to protecting the troops in combat and called the lack of adequate body armor for soldiers and Marines 'unforgivable.'"

Howard Dean also complained about the lack of body armor. He said that the Dems "are not going to let him lollygag around for four years after the September 11th attack. And also we are going to equip our troops with the body armor that they deserve in order to fight this war."

When John Kerry was running for president, he said "he would have handled Iraq 'very differently' than Bush. As commander in chief, Kerry said he would have given soldiers 'the body armor and equipment they needed.'"

John Murtha also brings up body armor whenever he's out there criticizing Bush and the Iraq war. He's be using the issue for years.

In September 2003, he stood with liberal House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to criticize the Pentagon as stinting on equipment and body armor for the troops.

...Murtha says all that's eating him is seeing troops killed and injured because they lack armored Humvees and body armor. "This is not political to me," he said.

Yes, the lack of body armor has been a favorite talking point of Dem elected officials and their mouthpieces in the lib media.

What's this?

Some Marines don't want body armor?

Extra body armor _ the lack of which caused a political storm in the United States _ has flooded in to Iraq, but many Marines here promptly stuck it in lockers or under bunks. Too heavy and cumbersome, many say.

Marines already carry loads as heavy as 70 pounds when they patrol the dangerous streets in towns and villages in restive Anbar province. The new armor plates, while only about five pounds each, are not worth carrying for the additional safety they are said to provide, some say.

"We have to climb over walls and go through windows," said Sgt. Justin Shank of Greencastle, Pa. "I understand the more armor, the safer you are. But it makes you slower. People don't understand that this is combat and people are going to die."

Staff Sgt. Thomas Bain of Buffalo, N.Y., shared concerns about the extra pounds.

"Before you know it, they're going to get us injured because we're hauling too much weight and don't have enough mobility to maneuver in a fight from house to house," said Bain, who is assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. "I think we're starting to go overboard on the armor."

...Last year, a study by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner said dozens of Marines killed by wounds to the torso might have survived had the larger plates been in use.

...Some Marines have chosen to wear the plates, particularly those in more vulnerable jobs such as Humvees turret gunners or those who frequently travel on roads plagued by roadside bombs.

But many Marines _ particularly those who conduct foot patrols also carrying weapons, extra ammunition, medical equipment, night vision goggles, food and water _ say the extra armor is not worth it, especially when the weather becomes unbearably hot.

"When you already have 60, 70 pounds on and you add 10 pounds when you go patrolling through the city or chasing after bad guys, that extra 10 pounds is going to make a difference. You're going to feel it," said Lance Cpl. David Partridge from Bangor, Maine.

What's shocking about this report is that it comes from the Associated Press. It is uncharacteristically balanced.

Body armor is now available and some won't wear it.

Will Hillary say that's "unforgivable"?

Certainly, I believe our troops must be adequately equipped. It's great that body armor is flooding into Iraq for those wishing to use it.

Many Marines, however, believe the politics of the issue eventually will make the plates mandatory.

"The reason they issued (the plates), I think, is to make people back home feel better," said Lance Cpl. Philip Tootle of Reidsville, Ga. "I'm not wishing they wouldn't have issued them. I'm just wishing that they wouldn't make them mandatory."

This perfectly illustrates that often politics at home and the realities of functioning in a war zone are at odds.