Shutdown 'Impacts Army Day-To-Day Operations'

The US Army Chief of Staff has said the government shutdown is significantly harming the Army's day-to-day operations.

General Ray Odierno urged Congress to find a resolution to the funding row that led to the first government shutdown in 17 years.

"It is going to be difficult for us to do anything," Gen Odierno said.

"We won't be doing training like we normally would, we won't be travelling, we won't be doing the coordination necessary, only mission-essential tasks.

''The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. Every day that goes by, we are losing manpower, we are losing capability, so in my mind it is important we get this resolved."

As the shutdown entered its second day, President Barack Obama is scrapping parts of a trip to Asia as the political stand-off shows no sign of letting up.

The Martin Luther King Memorial is among sites affected

Mr Obama called off stops in Malaysia and the Philippines, while keeping plans to travel to regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei.

The shutdown that began on Tuesday have left federal government functions in limbo from coast to coast.

National parks such as Yellowstone and Alcatraz Island have been shuttered and government websites have gone dark.

As many as 800,000 workers are taking unpaid leave.

Some have rebelled against the shutdown - on Tuesday, veterans pushed past barricades at the National World War Two Memorial to get into the site.

The crisis has also forced the cancellation of a Ku Klux Klan rally at Gettysburg National Military Park originally planned for Saturday.

Park officials - who had granted permission despite criticism, citing the right to freedom of expression - said they rescinded all permits for special events.

Many citizens are anxious about their future

Mr Obama has accused Republicans of taking the government hostage to sabotage his signature healthcare law, which was passed three years ago.

"They've shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans," Mr Obama said on Tuesday.

Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, view the law, called the Affordable Care Act and known as Obamacare, as a dangerous extension of government power.

They have coupled their bid to undermine it with continued efforts to block government funding, resulting in the impasse with Democrats, who control the Senate.

Politicians in both parties have suggested the stand-off might last for weeks.

Republicans have sought passage of legislation aimed at reopening small slices of the government, such as national parks and programmes for veterans.

But that approach was quickly rejected by the Democrats, who said Republicans cannot pick and choose what parts of the government they want to open.

"That's important - a park? How about the kids who need daycare?" said Democratic Representative Sander Levin of Michigan.

"You have to let all the hostages go. Every single one of them."

Republicans lamented that the rejection of their proposals would harm veterans like the ones who were at the National World War Two Memorial.

"They're coming here because they want to visit their memorial, the World War Two memorial, " said Republican Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho.

"But no, the Obama Administration has put barricades around it."

The veterans did not seem interested in taking sides.

"It's just like a bunch of little kids fighting over candy," said George Atkinson, an 82-year-old veteran of the Korean War.

"The whole group ought to be replaced, top man down."

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