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Sparring between two proxies of leading presidential candidates caught the Army’s chief of staff in the middle on Tuesday during a Senate hearing on Army posture.
The front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), said last week during a debate that an Army captain told him he had to lead a platoon in Afghanistan that was short on men, ammunition and Humvees.
“They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief,” Obama said in the debate, held last Thursday in Texas with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
Obama’s account inflamed veteran Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who has demanded the name and whereabouts of the captain so he could investigate the matter.
A Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, has denied Obama’s account.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a supporter of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and a backer of the war, asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Army Secretary Pete Geren at the Tuesday hearing whether Obama talked to anyone in the Army about the captain’s claims.
In response, Casey said that he has no reason to doubt the captain’s account, but questioned the assertion that the shortages prevented the troops from doing their job. Casey said the incident would have occurred in 2003 or 2004, a time he remembers as “difficult” due to the rush to bring armor and other equipment to the troops.
Obama has refused to disclose the captain’s name. Casey said that the Army has “purposely not tried to seek out the captain individually,” but he did contact the brigade commander for the platoon, which belonged to the 10th Mountain Division, and also reviewed the division’s readiness reports.
“There may have been some spot shortages in spare parts and ammunition,” Casey said. “But the commander said that there [was] never a shortage of ammunition that impacted the unit’s ability to accomplish its mission.”
When her turn came, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) remarked: “Well, since we had a McCain moment, I think I need to have an Obama moment out of fairness.
“Is that your understanding, that this captain who has served valiantly and heroically, has independently verified that certainly there was a frustration over getting what they needed to do that job in Afghanistan at that point in time?” she pressed.
“Senator, I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Casey responded. He stressed that the incident occurred four and a half years ago and that the Army and the Pentagon have worked together to correct all deficiencies. |
