Yesterday the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was reported as being ready to tell the President that we need to reduce the number of troops in Iraq in order to maintain our ability to respond to other threats. Today, General Pace says that he has not made up his mind yet.
Today the LA Times questions the morale of our troops in Iraq, which, as you would expect, is not very high at least in the view of those on the front lines or those who responded to an Army survey.
The Army's suicide rate is at its highest since the 1980s. Almost 30% of the suicides have been in Iraq.
We have almost as many private contractors as soldiers in Iraq.
Recruiting goals are being met only by lowering the standards.
Our leading military hospital, Walter Reed, can't give many of the wounded the care they need.
Russia seems to be moving toward regaining its place as a country to be feared.
1 comment:
Pace is more suited to politics than the military, in my opinion. Certainly, the American armed forces are stretched to breaking point, as are the British. Julius Caesar's favorite military strategy was divide and conquer. This crazy "coalition" didn't need the enemy to do that, they did it to themselves by starting two wars almost simultaneously. Now we are beginning to view the catastrophic results. I believe the British will pull out of Iraq very soon. They're serving no useful purpose there anymore. Though it's doubtful they ever did.
As for Russia, I see no evidence Putin is doing more than respond to the aggression of the West. He is well aware how American military power is now creeping ever closer to his borders, and he cannot be unaware of the empire-mongering attitudes of the present US administration. If America were to back away from interference in other nations, as it should, I believe Russia would become rapidly less belligerent.
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