Out of touch' Bush wants to boost size of Army

[cal04]

George Bush says he wants to increase the size of the US military - currently the second largest in the world - to allow America to take on a "long struggle against radicals and extremists".

Speaking at an end-of-year press conference, Mr Bush said he was "inclined to believe" a permanent increase in the size of US forces was necessary. Previously he indicated he wished to boost the Army and Marine Corps.

(snip)
Since the publication of the Iraq Study Group's (ISG) report, which recommended a short-term bolstering of Iraqi forces, there has been increasing speculation Mr Bush could order an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq. There is said to be considerable concern about such a plan among his military commanders who have raised doubts about the likely impact of an increase.

Additionally, Mr Bush's critics have seized on such a plan as more evidence that the President is out of touch with both the reality in Iraq and the mood of the country. "Bush does not seem to have understood the message of mid-term elections," said Andrew Burgin, spokesman of the Stop the War Coalition. "It's a fantasy to believe that the American people will agree to increased numbers of American troops being killed in Iraq .It's the same with Blair and people like Margaret Beckett. The whole political class appears to be out of touch with how this war started, what is happening in Iraq now and what the future holds."

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2091866.ece

[MH1]

1. Don't conflate: increasing the size of the military vs. Increasing troops in Iraq

They are two completely different issues.

The troops need to come home from Iraq, now.

But, that is not going to happen soon enough.

Increasing the size of the military provides some relief to National Guard and Reserve units who have been activated at a much higher rate than they ever should have been.