Obama lied about the platoon story.
Obama lied about the platoon story.
Reasons to agree
The below arguments were taken from Hot Air
- Obama said; “I heard from a Army captain, who was the head of a rifle platoon, supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon. Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24, because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq. And as a consequence, they didn’t have enough ammunition; they didn’t have enough humvees. They were actually capturing Taliban weapons because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief.”
- Well, captains command companies, not rifle platoons. A rifle platoon is normally commanded by a 2nd lieutenant, sometimes (if short handed) by a senior sergeant. So for starters, Obama betrays a woeful ignorance of military organization and the chain of command. Then he remarks that the platoon was under-strength because 15 of its men had been “sent to Iraq.” Sorry, the Army doesn’t work that way. Platoons are organic units, consisting of three rifle squads, a heavy weapons squad, and a headquarters section. You can’t break it up. It is the smallest building block in the infantry that can conduct fire-and-movement tactics…
- The idea that our guys were scrounging weapons and ammo because they were short is ludicrous. How much ammo you carry is done on a “per man” basis in the infantry–each solder carries a “basic load,” which is backed up by reserve supplies at company, battalion, and above. It is possible to run out of ammunition, temporarily, in the midst of an intense firefight…
- To the best of my knowledge, no U.S. forces in either Afghanistan or Iraq ever ran out of ammunition for more than a few hours at most. When you consider that we were operating in Afghanistan at the tenuous end of a 8,000 mile supply line, that’s pretty impressive.
Links that agree that Obama lied:
- http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/02/21/obama-on-afghanistan/#comment-18860
- http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/02/post_14.asp
- http://ace.mu.nu/archives/255463.php
- http://charliefoxtrotblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-meet-milblogs.html
Remember what a big deal the main stream media made out of the following Romney statement?
“…These American values, this great moral heritage, is shared and lived in my religion as it is in yours. I was taught in my home to honor God and love my neighbor. I saw my father march with Martin Luther King. I saw my parents provide compassionate care to others, in personal ways to people nearby, and in just as consequential ways in leading national volunteer movements. I am moved by the Lord’s words: ‘For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me…’
What chance do you think the MSM will push the Obama story as much as they pushed Romney’s?

February 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Obama is an Obama-nation.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
barely, more truth than not
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 am
…..it’s “AN” army captain, you idiot!
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
I think folks are reading too much into this. A Captain was once a LT. Probably experienced what he experienced before he got promoted. I doubt a Platoon Leader on the ground is in contact with Senator Obama.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Clarification of above comment. It should read: Dear Mr. Obama, If you are running for the highest office in the land, please, impress us. It’s “AN” army, not “a” army. To make such a gradeschool mistake on national television tells me that you are not even close to the level of Mitt Romney.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Ron, as I was listening to Hillary and Obama at the debate, lambaste “W”, because they were too chicken to direct their criticism to each other, and when they would mention what a failure “W” has been, the crowd would go wild.
Obama will be one of the Dumbest, Devisive Leaders this Country can imagine, and after about 4 months of Osama Obama’s leadership, trying to steal the money back from us “Rich Republicans” to re-distribute to the poor, “W” will seem like a pretty brilliant man, even to these “Hollywood Types”.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Obama as Commander-in-chief is a truly scary thought. What a mess this primary election season has left us in.