Josh Hill wrote:
> On Wed, 16 May 2007 02:18:34 +0100, Andrew Swallow
>  wrote:
> 
>> Josh Hill wrote:
>>> On Tue, 15 May 2007 02:14:16 +0100, Andrew Swallow
>>>  wrote:
>>>
>>> Actually, if you remember, Kerry proposed increasing the size of the
>>> army during the presidential debates. Bush did not. Furthermore, 
>>>
>>> "A team of Senate and House Democrats today are planning
to introduce
>>> legislation today aimed at significantly increasing size of  the U.S.
>>> Army."
>>>
>>>
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-aim-to-increase-army-size-2005-07-13.html
>>>
>>> But the sort of troop buildup that would be necessary in Iraq can't
>>> happen, because it would require a draft, and the public isn't willing
>>> to send a million kids to fight in another country's civil war.
>>>
>> A draft either lasts 2 years or until the war is over.  A 2 year draft 
>> is only useful in peace time.  It is the wrong sort of war for a keep 
>> until the fighting is over.
>>
>> More appropriate for anti-insurgency actions is career military.  Men 
>> recruited for 10 or 20 year terms.
>>
>> http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/04autumn/ohanlon.htm>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States>
>> The current size of the US Army is about 500,000 people.  The US 
>> population is about 302,000,000 which is 0.17% of the population.
>> Increasing the US military to say 1% of men would give 1,510,000 men 
>> under arms.  Expensive but not impossible.
> 
> But they've already reduced enlistment requirements just to maintain
> the army at its current size. I don't think they could get enough
> qualified applicants without either a draft, or a war that people
> think needs to be fought. What's more, by extending tours, recalling
> enlistees who have left the service, and sending guardsmen, they've
> made the job of recruitment even harder than it would normally be.
> 
True.  The Bush Administration has been pretending that the war will be 
short, so it could be fought by reservists taking a single tour rather 
than by large scale recruitment.  Advertisements for a 20 year career 
are very different from the have a working holiday with us and we will 
pay your college fees.  The repeated tours are too long for a holiday 
but appear too short for a military career.

Andrew Swallow
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