Menendez: Report On Military's Lack Of Readiness For Homeland Attack Is Another Reason To Transition Troops Home

Commission reports lack of preparedness for chemical, biological or nuclear attack

January 31, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Today, the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve issued its final report, which asserted that those branches of the Armed Forces are not adequately prepared to respond to chemical, biological or nuclear attacks on the homeland. According to the report: “Because the nation has not adequately resourced its forces designated for response to weapons of mass destruction, it does not have sufficient trained, ready forces available. This is an appalling gap that places the nation and its citizens at greater risk.” (p. 13)

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement:

“The president’s reckless Iraq war policy not only created a fiasco over there, but it also threatens our security here at home. This is what happens when you take so many Guard members and Reservists and essentially make them active duty. This is what happens when you stretch the military so thin. This is what happens when you have more than 150,000 troops policing a warzone with no end in sight.

“Our lack of preparedness takes on an added significance since we took our focus off of Osama bin Laden and allowed him to regroup in a safe zone along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. This president is fond of saying, ‘We’re fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them here,’ but clearly because we’re fighting over in Iraq, we’re no longer prepared to fight them here if that unthinkable day does come. This report is yet another warning sign that we need to begin transitioning our troops out of Iraq and focus on getting the people responsible for 9/11 and rebuilding our homeland security.”

Source: Senator Robert Menendez

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