March 10, 2008

 

Contact: Andrew Davis

E-mail: andrew.davis@lp.org

 

Office: 202-333-0008 ext. 225

Mobile: 202-731-0002

 

FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY:   

 

Bush remembers Poland, but forgets America

 

In pandering to Poland, Bush forgets about his own military’s

needs

Quick Quotes:
 

Shane Cory, Executive Director, Libertarian Party

•     «It is appalling that our troops are fighting a war in Humvees armored with scrap metal and plywood while

the President promises to help modernize the military of another country.»

 •    «Bush remembered Poland, but forgot America.»

 

Andrew Davis, National Media Coordinator, Libertarian Party

•     «Soldiers in a foreign country are going to be benefiting from equipment that should have gone to save

American lives.» 

 

Washington, D.C. – Today, the United States has agreed to help modernize the

Polish military in exchange for that country’s commitment to host a part of

a global missile defense shield.  This new deal comes while American

soldiers in hostile combat in Afghanistan and Iraq have warned that they

are in desperate of vital equipment, from armored vehicles to body armor.

«It is appalling that our troops are fighting a war in Humvees armored with

scrap metal and plywood while the President promises to help modernize

the military of another country,» says Shane Cory, executive director of the

Libertarian Party.

«Bush remembered Poland, but forgot America,» says Cory, referring to

Bush’s famous quip from a 2004 Presidential debate where he reminded Sen.

John Kerry that Poland was a key participant in the U.S. coalition in Iraq. 

«The President’s duty as Commander-in-Chief is to lead his own military.  It

is an unmitigated failure of duty to put the military interests of another

country above America’s.  We have soldiers dying everyday because of either

outdated equipment, or no equipment at all, yet Bush is promising to

modernize Poland’s military?»

Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, soldiers and commanders in Iraq

and Afghanistan have warned that they suffer from a severe lack of

equipment.  Some soldiers have resorted to scavenging for scrap metal in

hopes of armoring ill-equipped Humvees.  Additionally, U.S. Marines in

combat are asking for their old armor vests back after the new vests were

found to be impractical for combat.  The Pentagon ordered 84,000 units of

these new vests.

«Soldiers in a foreign country are going to be benefiting from equipment that

should have gone to save American lives,» says Andrew Davis, national

media coordinator for the Libertarian Party. «There is no way to rationalize

this betrayal of our men and women in combat.  President Bush has put

politics ahead of the safety of our troops.»

The Libertarian Party has opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq

since it began in 2003.  The Libertarian National Committee, the governing

body of the Libertarian Party, recently passed a resolution calling for a total

withdrawal from Iraq «without undue delay.» 

The Libertarian Party is America’s third largest political party, founded in

1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties.  You can find more

information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.lp.org. The

Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and

more freedom.
 

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview, please call

Andrew Davis at (202) 333-0008 during normal business hours, or at (202)

731-0002 during any other time.