Failed policy sapping strength of U.S. military

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Failed policy sapping strength of U.S. military
Article Launched: 04/17/2008 06:48:48 AM PDT


President Bush has eroded the strength of the U.S. military and made the nation more vulnerable by leading America into an unsustainable, trillion-dollar quagmire in Iraq. Two decisions he made last week guaranteed that strains on the military will deepen.

Bush signed on to Gen. David Petraeus' recommendation to indefinitely suspend further troop withdrawals after reductions from 170,000 to 140,000 in July. Bush will leave office with 10,000 more troops in Iraq than when the surge began - and no exit strategy from the mess he created.

Bush also followed the recommendation of top generals to reduce the length of combat tours in Iraq from 15 months to a year. The longer deployment, initiated at the start of the surge, was very unpopular with troops. Ending it may assuage soldiers whose family lives have been disrupted. But it won't address the dilemma of fighting terrorism on two fronts. Because of Bush's divided attention, the more important war in Afghanistan has gone badly.

The military itself is at odds over Iraq. The differences between Petraeus and Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were subtly evident in testimony before Congress. Petraeus called the
progress of the surge "fragile and reversible" and refused to be pinned down about pullouts. Gates maintained that after a "brief" taking stock, troop levels would be lowered. Mullen made it clear why: The Pentagon has committed 12,000 more troops to Afghanistan; fewer troops in Iraq would be the "only relief valve" for that obligation.

more:http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_8957456