Batiste: U.S. not serious about terror war

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. government is not serious about fighting the terror war, a retired general said.

"Our leaders have a responsibility to galvanize the American people for what might very well be a decades-long struggle. Americans want to be told the truth -- what are we facing, what will it take to win, how long will it take, and what are the consequences for failure," retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who helped plan the Iraq war and then commanded a division during the invasion, told a hearing last week of the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Americans want to be part of the solution. We want to properly fund the war with war bonds or taxes, programs that do not mortgage our children's futures. We want to properly resource our great military, to include beginning the debate on national service. We want to mobilize industry to get behind this effort," Batiste said.

"Why is the military competing with golf club manufactures for specialty metals? Why does it take years to replace a helicopter destroyed in Iraq or Afghanistan? Why do we have the huge backlog of broken military equipment in our military depots? Why is veteran medical care still broken?" he asked.

"Why are we not serious about immigration reform and homeland security? Why is America still dependent on foreign oil?"

"The time for half-measures is over," he said. "It is also past time for our Congress to provide constitutionally mandated oversight over the executive branch."

Batiste describes himself as "a die-hard Republican." However, he has also made ads for the anti-war VoteVets organization.