Reading the early comments on this article (Army History Finds Early Missteps in Afghanistan) reveals the basic ignorance of the American public on military matters. Military officials recommend troop levels for the conflict. Elected officials approve those levels, including the size of the overall force. The overall force is (and continues to be) too small. Part of the reason for that smallness was the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld desire to keep the force small in order to justify (1) procurement of equipment and (2) the hiring of contractors (KBR and Blackwater, et al), thereby causing us to fight this war at a retail cost instead of a wholesale cost. The situation continues because the sad fact about us as a nation and a people is we lack the guts to bring back the lottery draft we had before we went "all volunteer". If we did so, not only would we have the flexibility to expand our forces as needed at a wholesale cost, but we would be more likely to consider the full costs and requirements of our wars before we get in them.

Here's a link to the article

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/world/asia/31history.html