Stuck in Iraq

Impeachment should be back on the table. Incompetence in office should not be tolerated by anyone, regardless of Party. I challenge any Republican, Bush backer and war monger to justify the administrations lack of preparation in developing a back up plan for our fighting men and women returning home from Iraq.

In the Vermont Press story: “Plainfield soldier stuck in Iraq as airline bringing troops home goes bankrupt,” you can’t help but ask how something like this could have been allowed to happened. If you’ve defended privatization of government services in the past, perhaps this might give you reason to reconsider such policies.

“Waneta Mayhew has waited 12 long months for her son to come home from Iraq. She found out she'll have to wait a little longer. Mayhew's son is one of at least two Vermont soldiers stranded in Baghdad due a transportation snafu that has delayed the return of hundreds of American servicemen."

"ATA Airlines, the private company contracted by the Department of Defense to ferry servicemen from Iraq to the United States, went bankrupt earlier this month, leaving soldiers in the lurch after their tours had expired. ‘I'm pissed,’ Mayhew said from her Plainfield home Wednesday. ‘He's done his year. Bring him home.’ Mayhew, who lost two brothers in the Korean War, said she has worried long enough."

"Don't we have some army planes? Why do we have to depend on commercial airlines to get our men to and from Iraq?"Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates seeking a prompt resolution to the airline debacle. Lt. Col. Fred Rice is a spokesman for U.S. Transportation Command said the military is working quickly to fix the problem but that the logjam of returning soldiers will likely cause delays weeks down the road. 'What we are experiencing is definitely an inconvenience for our soldiers, and of course we feel that it is a main priority for us to get those soldiers home."

And no one saw this coming? This is inexcusable ineptitude by government officials that should prompt public outrage. The test will be this: whether people accept the conservative frame that government is bad and should be cut, or whether people see an opportunity to improve and make more responsive our public servants. And of course, bring our soldiers home.