Rumsfeld in gun for lack of armour

CAMP BUEHRING - Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld faced open criticism from his own troops yesterday.

They complained about inadequate armour for Iraq and questioned a policy that stops them from leaving the military when their voluntary term ends.

The unusually blunt public exchange came at a town hall-style session with American soldiers at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, 20km south of the border with Iraq.

Hundreds of troops applauded a comrade who complained to Rumsfeld that US forces were being forced to dig up scrap metal to protect their vehicles in Iraq because of a shortage of armoured ones.

"Now why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armour our vehicles? And why don't we have those resources readily available to us?" the soldier, Thomas Wilson, asked.

"A lot of us are getting ready to move north soon. Our vehicles are not armoured. We're digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that's already been shot up, dropped, busted - picking the best out of this scrap to put on our vehicles to take into combat."

Rumsfeld conceded that "not every vehicle has the degree of armour desirable". The Army was hurrying to provide more armoured vehicles, adding 400 a month.

"You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want. You can have all the armour in the world on a tank and a tank can be blown up. You can have an up-armoured Humvee and it can be blown up."

Rumsfeld also faced questions about equipment shortages and the US role in Iraq after elections scheduled for January 30.

"Now settle down, settle down. Hell, I'm an old man, and it's early in the morning. I'm just gathering my thoughts here," the 72-year-old Rumsfeld said lightheartedly at one point.

In Washington, Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut called Rumsfeld's comments about the armour "stunning," and said in a letter to the secretary, "Your response - 'You go to war with the Army you have' - is unacceptable."

The Army has acknowledged problems in supplying sufficient numbers of the armoured Humvee, a light vehicle that without extra armour can be especially vulnerable to attacks by insurgents using roadside bombs and rocket grenades.

Another soldier asked Rumsfeld about the Army's "stop-loss" policy that has prevented thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from leaving the military when their volunteer service ends.

Rumsfeld said it was a fact of life for troops during war because it helped maintain cohesion for units needed on the battlefield.

- REUTERS