Lying to the Troops

This is just too disheartening for me to make a joke out of it. From USA Today:

Whitcomb spoke a day after Rumsfeld, questioned by Army Spc. Thomas Wilson at a meeting with troops in Kuwait, seemed to downplay concerns about a lack of armor.

On Thursday, Rumsfeld softened his tone. "It doesn't happen instantaneously, but it has been happening pretty rapidly," he said.

A day earlier, he had called it "a matter of physics, not a matter of money ... It's a matter of production and the capability of doing it." But spokesmen for two companies making armor for vehicles said Thursday they had offered to step up the pace of production:

• Former Republican congressman Matt Salmon of Arizona, a spokesman for ArmorWorks in Tempe, Ariz., said his company will finish a $30 million contract with the Pentagon this month to make 1,500 armor kits for Humvees. "We are at 50% capacity, and we could do a lot more," he said. "They are aware of it."

• Armor Holdings of Jacksonville told the Army last month it could add armor to as many as 550 trucks a month, up from 450, said Robert Mecredy of its aerospace and defense group. "We're prepared to build 50 to 100 vehicles more per month," he said.

Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the Pentagon had no immediate response.