Admiral Mullen: Not enough troops for both Iraq and Afghanistan
Per CNN, Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, reports there are not enough US troops to support requirements in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The Admiral says he is anxiously waiting NATO's decision as to whether they will provide additional troops to help meet the shortfall.
Don't hold your breath, Admiral. The NATO nations (according to reports I have seen) are not anxious to put their people into the meat grinder. One of their hesitations is to say to America, "If you weren't in Iraq, then you would have sufficient troops for Afghanistan."
There is a lot of sub-text to this report. Obstensibly, the purpose of Mullen's briefing was to demonstrate why troop reductions in Iraq were not possible. What it reveals speaks volumes. For those who say the military brass is muzzled, this is a counterpoint, given the gravity of what was revealed.
Another point is this question. Is the administration so confident of the cluelessness of the American public they will allow this sort of announcement? Here's what I mean.
First, we should take the reluctance of our allies to further their involvement as a sign that maybe we need to reconsider our own involvement.
Second, we need to go back to what I was saying in 2006, because it's as true now as it was then. We are a nation of 300 Million and a significant portion of that population is between ages 18 and 28. If (as we are told) the fate of freedom rests on achieving a military victory in Iraq and Afghanistan; if defeat is too devestating to contemplate, and we are short the number of troops needed to achieve that victory, then why haven't we started the Draft to get the number of troops we need?
Why do we instead rely on expensive contractors and mercenaries? Why do we force less than 1% of our population to repeatedly go into harm's way while the rest of us are primarily concerned with who will win American Idol or Dancing with the Stars?
Could the answer be that our freedom does not hang in the balance and a military victory is not essential and starting the Draft would spark scrutiny of the question that could not stand the light of day?
What do you think?
Here's a link to the CNN report.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mullen.iraq.afghanistan/index.html
Don't hold your breath, Admiral. The NATO nations (according to reports I have seen) are not anxious to put their people into the meat grinder. One of their hesitations is to say to America, "If you weren't in Iraq, then you would have sufficient troops for Afghanistan."
There is a lot of sub-text to this report. Obstensibly, the purpose of Mullen's briefing was to demonstrate why troop reductions in Iraq were not possible. What it reveals speaks volumes. For those who say the military brass is muzzled, this is a counterpoint, given the gravity of what was revealed.
Another point is this question. Is the administration so confident of the cluelessness of the American public they will allow this sort of announcement? Here's what I mean.
First, we should take the reluctance of our allies to further their involvement as a sign that maybe we need to reconsider our own involvement.
Second, we need to go back to what I was saying in 2006, because it's as true now as it was then. We are a nation of 300 Million and a significant portion of that population is between ages 18 and 28. If (as we are told) the fate of freedom rests on achieving a military victory in Iraq and Afghanistan; if defeat is too devestating to contemplate, and we are short the number of troops needed to achieve that victory, then why haven't we started the Draft to get the number of troops we need?
Why do we instead rely on expensive contractors and mercenaries? Why do we force less than 1% of our population to repeatedly go into harm's way while the rest of us are primarily concerned with who will win American Idol or Dancing with the Stars?
Could the answer be that our freedom does not hang in the balance and a military victory is not essential and starting the Draft would spark scrutiny of the question that could not stand the light of day?
What do you think?
Here's a link to the CNN report.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mullen.iraq.afghanistan/index.html
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