Clicking on banner ads enables JWR to constantly improve
Jewish World Review Feb. 13, 2001 / 20 Shevat, 5761

Lisa Hoffman

JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Bush's materiel tour

http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- BRINGING news of a pay raise and other future goodies, President Bush embarked yesterday on a make-up-to-the-military tour.

On his first trip on Air Force One as president, one of three day jaunts Bush will make this week to military installations, the new commander in chief tried to soothe angst in the ranks that he is going to break campaign promises of immediate help for GIs.

"We owe you and your families a decent quality of life. We owe you the training and equipment you need to do your jobs," Bush told cheering troops at Fort Stewart, Ga.

He announced that he intends to give the troops $5.7 billion to boost wages, improve housing and sweeten health benefits, but not until fiscal 2002 - far later than military and congressional leaders had expected.

But Bush made little mention of the timetable Monday and the Army infantry troops gave the president a boisterous welcome when he described the new $1.4 billion pay raise and retention benefits. Left unsaid was the fact that the pay raise comes not from Bush's initiative but instead from a congressional mandate.

It didn't take long for Democrats to attack Bush's decision not to send an infusion of cash to the Pentagon immediately. During the campaign, Bush repeatedly vowed to spend $4.5 billion quickly to bring the military respite from eight years of hard times under President Clinton.

"Now that he is in the White House, President Bush seems content to tell our fighting forces not that help is on the way but that the check is in the mail," Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the former Democratic vice-presidential candidate, said Monday.

House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt said Bush was shorting the troops to ensure America can afford a $1.6 trillion tax cut. "President Bush continues to insist on putting an irresponsible tax cut ahead of the immediate needs of our men and women in uniform," the Missouri lawmaker said.

Since Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last week that no new spending would be added to this year's budget and that a thorough review of the military would precede decisions on how much money would be spent next year, howls of protest have come from conservative pundits and ex-military officers.

"I am increasingly concerned about trade-offs that appear to be taking place," former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon Sullivan said.

Not all in the conservative camp are faulting Bush. Jack Spencer, a defense analyst at the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, said Monday that the new president is being responsible in studying the needs before advocating more specific spending of taxpayer dollars.

"More is needed. But throwing money at the military now won't solve anything," Spencer said.

The controversy is sure to continue the rest of the week, during which the White House is focusing on national security. It is part of a continuing effort to concentrate on a single issue at a time. Last week, the focus was on tax cuts; the week before it was education.

Today, Bush travels to Norfolk Naval Air Station in Virginia to participate in a battle training exercise; there he will stress the need for more modern weapons and research. On Wednesday, he goes to Charleston, W.Va., to meet with National Guard and reserve airmen at the Air National Guard base there.

Comment by clicking here.

Up

© 2001, SHNS