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Q I wanted to ask – it’s John Lumpkin with the Associated Press. I wanted to ask less about the quantity of armored vehicles and more about the quality of the armor itself. Two different ways … kind of lines there.

One is, generally is there a sense that a lot of soldiers are going through and putting sort of improvised armor or other protection on their vehicles, either through scrap yards or other means? If so, does that suggest the vehicles are not coming to them armored in a satisfactory way? Along the same line is this level-three armor. Does it provide enough protection on the trucks, is it stopping enough attacks, or is there a need for heavy -- medium-heavy trucks with essentially a greater level of armored protection?

GEN. WHITCOMB: That's a great question. The answer is, how much is enough? If I can add another plate or another inch or more to the vehicle I'm riding in that gives me protection, it's better. I mean, that is absolutely the case. It's why we have a 72-ton M1A2 Abrams tank, because we reacted to the threats, the capability to produce a better round. So I think that's a prudent thing to do if a soldier has the capability.

Do I think that it is widespread that our soldiers are going out and trying to add armor? I do not have that indication. I don't want to say it's not happening, because I'm sure it is, but I don't -- in my opinion, it's not being done in mass numbers or mass quantities.

Does a level-three protection give you level one? No, it doesn't. And we make no bones about it. The good news is it does -- level one and level two do give you protection.

And I've got a couple of great noncommissioned officers, our best spokesmen here, Sergeant First Class Steve Mikes (sp) out of the 1486th Transportation Company, and Sergeant First Class Joe Litchard (sp) out of the same company, that were convoy commanders. They run that dangerous route that runs from Kuwait up into north of Baghdad. And incidentally, that route is about as far as driving from Wilmington, North Carolina to Canton, Ohio, except when you drive from Wilmington to Canton, it's not through Indian territory.

But both these great soldiers, Sergeant Mikes (sp) and Sergeant Litchard (sp), both were attacked when they were performing their duties and had level-one armor protect them. And I asked him, "Well, what would have happened if you hadn't had level-three armor, if you hadn't had the steel plating?" He said, "Well, sir, I would have been shot." I mean, that's pretty basic. And we also had attack with using the add-on armor, the level-two kind of capability. It protected these men, these soldiers.

That is not to say that we have not lost soldiers that had no armor, level one, level two, level three. We have. And it's tragic, and we accept that and we accept our responsibility to get our troops the best protection that we can. And that's what we are about doing.

Does that get to your question?

Q Yes, sir. Thank you.

'....And incidentally, that route is about as far as driving from Wilmington, North Carolina to Canton, Ohio, except when you drive from Wilmington to Canton, it's not through Indian territory.'

THIS is the mind set that is protecting our contry. SAD!

Der Bush Regime is slimy from top to bottom....they choose to run on 'Morality'....they wouldn't know morals if they bit them in the ass!

Until the Great White Father in DC realizes that Indians are here and we ain't going anywhere, they will continue to display racist comments and live in their smugness. The time to pay is coming, then all of the Indian blood shed on these lands will be vindicated. The military can use all of their recourses BUT they must remember that they don't know it all. Indians didn't give away ALL the secrets when they helped train the 'elite'. LOL Those who KNOW understand those words

I hope the transcript can be put to some good. That is language unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, especially a lieutenant general.

I'd rather interpret it as them having decided to give that territory back, it'd be fun to watch their reactions to the question of which tribes they've decided to ceded that corridor to and how wide it will be.

Forget the Iraq oil, the Iraq casinos will easily pay for the war

Perhaps Der Bush Regime can set up an Iraqi Trust

oh wait, they have already done that but the money is going to Halliburton and Shaw and others....all the Iraqi Natives get is another Trail of Tears

That already looks to be the case for the Chaldeans and Armenians and other christian groups there (yep, with all the noise Dubya makes about being a christian he doesn't even protect his own) and may well end up that way for the Kurds. There haven't been that many minorities in that much danger at the same time in the region since 1916, he seems to be well on his way to making the history books!

I probably won't be able to but I'll see if I can get any hints on whether Norton is being forced or an instigator in the next month.

Can I have a list of Native Americal activist groups located in the northeast? PM me if not comfortable listing here.

Thank you.

Typical military arrogance... reminiscent of another Lt. Col. by the name of Custer.