Rumsfeld blamed for mistakes in Iraq

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, in the Democrats' weekly radio address, blasted the Pentagon under Rumsfeld for "a litany of serious miscalculations" including underestimating the Iraqis resistance and failing to give troops enough protective equipment even though Congress gave it all the money it requested.

"The Pentagon says the lack of protective equipment is a matter of 'logistics.' No it's not. It's a matter of leadership," Durbin said.

"Those responsible for planning this war were not prepared for the reality on the ground, and many of our soldiers have paid the price," he said, citing nearly 1,300 US service members who have died in Iraq and more than 10,000 injured.

Durbin said "the most valuable gift America's service members and their families received this holiday season" may be the question a Tennessee National Guard member asked Rumsfeld on why US soldiers were forced to scavenge in junk piles for steel plates to armor their Humvees and trucks.

"Now Congress has given the administration every penny it has requested for Iraq and Afghanistan," Durbin said. But he said 21 months after the US-led invasion of Iraq, 3,500 Humvees there still lacked protective armor, and about 80 percent of other vehicles troops are using in Iraq also were unarmored.

"How in the world can the Pentagon have billions of dollars for no-bid contracts for companies like Halliburton -- but not enough money to provide basic protective equipment for our troops?" Durbin said.