Bill Delahunt: “I don't know if the gentlelady saw last evening the interview with former President Bill Clinton. He achieved a bit of…”

“I don't know if the gentlelady saw last evening the interview with former President Bill Clinton. He achieved a bit of notoriety. There was a statement that President Clinton made about if he were President at this point in time, there would be so many more troops in Afghanistan. There would be so many more troops in Afghanistan. The inference is, of course, that we wouldn't be in Iraq. Well, I am not going to speculate, but I thought it was significant that he talked about the reality is that there is just insufficient troops existing. You know what I find particularly interesting, we are talking about active duty army military personnel. It is worse with the National Guard and the Army Reserve. I know we all have Guard units back home. I have a large military reservation that has served this country very well. We have, in my opinion, some of the best Army and Air Force National Guard units anywhere in the country. But the truth is, they are under incredible stress. I will just read this to you. 'More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready largely because of vast equipment shortfalls that will take as much as $21 billion to correct.' The comments by Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum came in the wake of disclosures by Army officials, analysts and members of the Congress that two-thirds of the active Army's brigades are not combat ready.”