Defense Budget Plundered for Earmarks

Remember the days when Democrats were crying "fund the troops?" Well that apparently no longer applies:

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

Among the 778 such projects, known as earmarks, packed into the bill: $25 million for a new World War II museum at the University of New Orleans and $20 million to launch an educational institute named after the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

While earmarks are hardly new in Washington, "in 30 years on Capitol Hill, I never saw Congress mangle the defense budget as badly as this year," said Winslow Wheeler, a former Senate staffer who worked on defense funding and oversight for both Republicans and Democrats. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information, an independent research organization.

Yeah, that is a wise use of Defense department funds.

And just what are those 13,000-15,000 additional troops President Obama is going to send to Afghanistan supposed to use to defend themselves, feed themselves or move around the country. Yeah, this is bad, real bad.