Should The United States Increase Its Armed Forces By Over 90,000 Troops

[DemocratSinceBirth]

[nsd]

1. Huh?

I don't get it. What's this question about?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. It's From One Of Our Candidates' Website

That's the number the Democratic senator wants to raise it by ...

[babylonsister]

5. Oh please. Should the US raise the number of troops TO REPLACE

those that have been stop-lossed for 6 years? Do the current soldiers not deserve a break? Please be honest; this is not about increasing activity and manpower in Iraq.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. I Am Merely Asking A Question

I suspect one could say the United States would not need such a large military if it committed itself to using force more judiciously... I suspect one could say the United States doesn't need a military budget that is larger than the next thirteen nations combined...

Those seem like topics for legitimate debate...

I deeply regret you took it as some kind of assault...

[babylonsister]

11. I took your response #2 as an assault; you're insinuating bullshit

but that's to be expected.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. Your Logic Is Flawed But "That's To Be Expected"

I merely asked a question...Whatever inference you drew had nothing to do with my question...

If I wanted to ask about sending more troops to Iraq I would have done so...

[JayFredMuggs]

13. Yes!

No National guardsmen and women should be in Iraq or Afghanistan!

They should be in their home states doing what National Guardsmen and women are supposed to do.

Use Regular Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, etc for military missions.

Perhaps a case can be made for National Guardsmen in border states supporting Border Patrol forces.

Otherwise, get these men and women home from relentless respeated life threatening deployments away from their families.

Geesh! This is SO EASY!

Why doesn't this happen BEFORE Bush is sent to prison after his term?

[panader0]

3. I think they would have to have a draft.

Why any one would want to enlist right now is a mystery. There are some huge cash incentives, OK. Our military should , number one: Be taken care of, in the battlezone (more body armor) and at home (no Walter Reed BS). number two: Have a real definable mission to accomplish and not the whim of an ass like bush.

[Swamp Rat]

4. We'll need to when Bushler attacks Iran later this year.

[baldguy]

6. Thats about the number you'd need to fix the disasterous state that Bush has left it in.

Along with several hundred billion dollars.

[jefferson_dem]

7. Sure, sounds good.

As long as we replace the current Commander-in-Chief with one who's not a war-mongering asshat.

[patrice]

8. We have lost control over how our armed forces are being used.

This suggestion is Dangerous.

[nsd]

9. I think both Obama and Clinton have called for increasing the size of the military.

I'm not sure which one specifies the 90,000 number, but this isn't really an issue that distinguishes one from the other.

In Obama's case, I know he's called for more troops in Afghanistan and would like to ease the burden on the existing troops (stop-loss and the like).

[Political Heretic]

14. Response:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5314365&mesg_id=5314365

[AZBlue]

15. Ya know, increasing the size of the armed forces DOES NOT equal going to war.

Far from it.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. How Did You Infer That From My Question?

I think we should reduce the size of our military.

[Capn Sunshine]

16. absolutely- we need to get rid of these fucking private contractors

Or did you not realize that was what this was about?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. Maybe We Need To Use Our Forces More Judiciously...

Maybe we don't need a defense budget that is larger than the defense budgets of the next thirteen nations combined...

Maybe we don't need a military presence in one hundred thirty nations...

Maybe we should think about turning our swords into ploughshares...

[Capn Sunshine]

19. Increasing troops and the Pentagon budget are two different things

although a significant portion of the Pentagon budget is blown on the vagaries of the private contracting thing. Hand in glove and all that.