Use of reserve armed forces worries Langevin

Rep. James R. Langevin, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, yesterday said he was "deeply concerned" about President Bush's decision to allow the Marine Corps to involuntarily call up members of the individual ready reserve.

In a news release, Langevin said the decision "further illustrates the extreme burden that our operations in Iraq are placing on our service members and our military readiness, and the need for civilian leadership changes to be made at the Pentagon."

Langevin reiterated his call for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation, saying, "While our men and women in uniform have done an impressive job performing increasingly difficult missions in Iraq, it is not in the United States' best interest to continue placing more and more of them in harm's way. It is also not the best use of our already beleaguered military infrastructure."

--Providence Journal, 8/24/06