From: "Mark" 

Whether they *should* be acted upon is also a viable factor in their
consideration process.

"Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
news:43d6e0c0{at}w3.nls.net...
> The Pentagon should be credited for commissioning the study. Whether the
> findings of the report are acted on by the powers-that-be remains to be
> seen
>
>
> "Mark"  wrote in message
news:43d6d48d{at}w3.nls.net...
>> Whatever. The fact is they're commissioning the reports and acting on
>> them as appropriate -- a far cry from the "Rumsfeld doesn't
listen"
>> argument put forth by the left continiously.
>>
>> Ah well, at least it's a new name to float about instead of the tired old
>> "Zinni" and "Shinseki" canards.
>>
>> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
>> news:43d6cf7c$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> The report doesn't claim the Army is broken just that it's under a large
>>> amount of strain.  We do live in a somewhat free society and until
>>> politicians succeed in classifying everything negative thankfully we
>>> will be able to read reports such as this.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Mark"  wrote in message
>>> news:43d6c9d2$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>> Let's see, the Pentagon commissioned a report, the report tells them
>>>> things, they evaluate those things and take action (or not, because
>>>> certainly this is not the only report they have on their
table). What's
>>>> to decry?  And although, a quick googling of the guy leads me to
>>>> believe that I disagree with most of his positions, it
still seems that
>>>> it's good that Rumsfeld is looking for input, doesn't it?
>>>>
>>>> I do think it's pretty dumb for these reports (and the Murthaesque
>>>> evaluations) that the Army is broken, which is certainly
not a foregone
>>>> conclusion, to be bandied about publicly given the Iran situation --
>>>> what is the purpose, to encourage the Mullahs to defy the
world? >>> already know Europe has no military capability>
>>>>
>>>> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote
in message
>>>> news:43d6c32c$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>>> So will Pentagon commissioned reports  join the MSM
ones that the
>>>>> Bushies love to decry ?
>>>>>
>>>>> http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1536797&page=2
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> WASHINGTON Jan 24, 2006 - Stretched by frequent troop
rotations to
>>>>> Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has become a "thin
green line" that
>>>>> could snap unless relief comes soon, according to a
study for the
>>>>> Pentagon.
>>>>>
>>>>> Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer who wrote
the report under
>>>>> a Pentagon contract, concluded that the Army cannot
sustain the pace
>>>>> of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the
back of the
>>>>> insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's
decision, announced
>>>>> in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this
year was driven
>>>>> in part by a realization that the Army was overextended.
>>>>>
>>>>> As evidence, Krepinevich points to the Army's 2005
recruiting slump
>>>>> missing its recruiting goal for the first time since
1999 and its
>>>>> decision to offer much bigger enlistment bonuses and
other incentives.
>>>>>
>>>>> "You really begin to wonder just how much stress
and strain there is
>>>>> on the Army, how much longer it can continue," he
said in an
>>>>> interview. He added that the Army is still a highly
effective fighting
>>>>> force and is implementing a plan that will expand the
number of combat
>>>>> brigades available for rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan.
>>>>>
>>>>> The 136-page report represents a more sobering picture
of the Army's
>>>>> condition than military officials offer in public.
While not released
>>>>> publicly, a copy of the report was provided in response to an
>>>>> Associated Press inquiry.
>>>>>
>>>>> Illustrating his level of concern about strain on the Army,
>>>>> Krepinevich titled one of his report's chapters,
"The Thin Green
>>>>> Line."
>>>>>
>>>>> He wrote that the Army is "in a race against
time" to adjust to the
>>>>> demands of war "or risk `breaking' the force in
the form of a
>>>>> catastrophic decline" in recruitment and re-enlistment.
>>>>>
>>>>> Col. Lewis Boone, spokesman for Army Forces Command, which is
>>>>> responsible for providing troops to war commanders,
said it would be
>>>>> "a very extreme characterization" to call
the Army broken. He said his
>>>>> organization has been able to fulfill every request
for troops that it
>>>>> has received from field commanders.
>>>>>
>>>>> The Krepinevich assessment is the latest in the debate
over whether
>>>>> the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have worn out the Army, how the
>>>>> strains can be eased and whether the U.S. military is
too burdened to
>>>>> defeat other threats.
>>>>>
>>>>> Rep. John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat and Vietnam veteran,
>>>>> created a political storm last fall when he called for
an early exit
>>>>> from Iraq, arguing that the Army was "broken,
worn out" and fueling
>>>>> the insurgency by its mere presence. Administration
officials have
>>>>> hotly contested that view.
>>>>>
>>>>> George Joulwan, a retired four-star Army general and former NATO
>>>>> commander, agrees the Army is stretched thin.
>>>>>
>>>>> Whether they're broken or not, I think I would say if
we don't change
>>>>> the way we're doing business, they're in danger of
being fractured and
>>>>> broken, and I would agree with that," Joulwan
told CNN last month.
>>>>>
>>>>> Krepinevich did not conclude that U.S. forces should
quit Iraq now,
>>>>> but said it may be possible to reduce troop levels
below 100,000 by
>>>>> the end of the year. There now are about 136,000,
Pentagon officials
>>>>> said Tuesday.
>>>>>
>>>>> For an Army of about 500,000 soldiers not counting the
thousands of
>>>>> National Guard and Reserve soldiers now on active duty
the commitment
>>>>> of 100,000 or so to Iraq might not seem an excessive burden. But
>>>>> because the war has lasted longer than expected, the
Army has had to
>>>>> regularly rotate fresh units in while maintaining its
normal training
>>>>> efforts and reorganizing the force from top to bottom.
>>>>>
>>>>> Krepinevich's analysis, while consistent with the
conclusions of some
>>>>> outside the Bush administration, is in stark contrast
with the public
>>>>> statements of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and
senior Army
>>>>> officials.
>>>>>
>>>>> Army Secretary Francis Harvey, for example, opened a
Pentagon news
>>>>> conference last week by denying the Army was in
trouble. "Today's Army
>>>>> is the most capable, best-trained, best-equipped and
most experienced
>>>>> force our nation has fielded in well over a
decade," he said, adding
>>>>> that recruiting has picked up.
>>>>>
>>>>> Rumsfeld has argued that the experience of fighting in Iraq and
>>>>> Afghanistan has made the Army stronger, not weaker.
>>>>>
>>>>> "The Army is probably as strong and capable as it
ever has been in the
>>>>> history of this country," he said in an
appearance at the Paul H.
>>>>> Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in
Washington on Dec.
>>>>> 5. "They are more experienced, more capable,
better equipped than ever
>>>>> before."
>>>>>
>>>>> Krepinevich said in the interview that he understands
why Pentagon
>>>>> officials do not state publicly that they are being
forced to reduce
>>>>> troop levels in Iraq because of stress on the Army.
"That gives too
>>>>> much encouragement to the enemy," he said, even
if a number of signs,
>>>>> such as a recruiting slump, point in that direction.
>>>>>
>>>>> Krepinevich is executive director of the Center for
Strategic and
>>>>> Budgetary Assessments, a nonprofit policy research institute
>>>>>
>>>>> He said he concluded that even Army leaders are not
sure how much
>>>>> longer they can keep up the unusually high pace of
combat tours in
>>>>> Iraq before they trigger an institutional crisis. Some
major Army
>>>>> divisions are serving their second yearlong tours in
Iraq, and some
>>>>> smaller units have served three times.
>>>>>
>>>>> Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the private Brookings
>>>>> Institution, said in a recent interview that
"it's a judgment call"
>>>>> whether the risk of breaking the Army is great enough to warrant
>>>>> expanding its size.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I say yes. But it's a judgment call, because so
far the Army isn't
>>>>> broken," O'Hanlon said.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

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