Bush and Rumsfeld blamed production problems - among other things - when cornered by a US soldier in Kuwait about lack of armour for Humvees in Iraq. As the SMH reports, that's just not true at all:
However, the manufacturer of Humvees for the US military and the company that adds armour to the vehicles say they are not running near production capacities and are making all that the Pentagon has requested.
"If they call and say, 'You know, we really want more,' we'll get it done," said Lee Woodward, a spokesman for AM General, the Indiana company that makes Humvees and the civilian Hummer versions.
At O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt, the Ohio firm that turns specially designed Humvees into fully armoured vehicles at a cost of about $US70,000 ($93,000) each, a spokesman, Michael Fox, said it, too, can provide more if the Government wants them.
Senator Evan Bayh, a Democrat, said on Thursday that the companies could increase production of armoured Humvees from 450 per month to 550 per month by February.
Blaming the shortage on a lack of production capacity, as Mr Rumsfeld did on Wednesday, is "just not true", Senator Bayh said. He said he had told the Pentagon as early as April that more armoured Humvees could be built.
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