Why, security-wise, is it OK for Colin Powell to say "We have no more troops"?

[Bonobo]

Why is it not considered an act of treason, or at very least an imprudent thing to do for Colin Powell (or any informed person with credible, inside info) to say to the world that our "army is broken" and that we have "no more active troops"?

Does this not give any potential enemy (as in a REAL country, not a fictional "insurgency") a dangerous signal that we are open to attack somewhere else?

Isn't it common sense that you don't show how weak you are? Doesn't ANYONE know that? So WTF!? Someone explain it to me like I'm dumb, cause I don't get it.

[aquart]

1. This may shock you, but everybody who counts, knows.

Our "enemy" KNOWS we have no more soldiers. They see the aged, the crippled, the exhausted on patrol. They KNOW.

[Bonobo]

9. Nope, It's the abandonment of common sense that shocks me.

[babylonsister]

2. I'm listening to him; perhaps he's saying it because it's the truth,

unlike what we've been hearing lately. Maybe he's warning us.

[The Count]

4. That's besides the point of the OP which deals with selective accusations.

[The Count]

3. Colon helped start this war, he still has creds with the BFEE. For now.

But, you're right. NYTimes has been called traitor for reporting the surveillance program that Lil' Boots announced.

[Bonobo]

8. Count, the SELECTIVE accusation of 'treason' is EXACTLY my point. Thx.

[n2doc]

5. In a traditional sense, you are right

There is no way in WWI or WWII that our leaders would have said such a thing. But then again, these are different times and the other posters are right. The enemy knows the measure of our resolve, or rather our willingness to sacrifice men for this "cause"

Powell should, however, preface his statement with "We have no more volunteer troops...." In the wars fought in the past where we had real leaders who asked for sacrifice we had the ability to bring a lot more troops (millions in WWII) to the battlefield....

[Cocoa]

6. he's not giving out classified information

he's not even in government anymore.

He's just stating an opinion/analysis.

[asjr]

7. Powell committed treason when he went

along with the BFEE before the war. When he comes out and states we were snookered by the WH and he knew it at the time, maybe he can gain some lost respect. Whatever else he says now doesn't mean squat.

[MADem]

10. Because military end strength is not a secret number. You can get this info anywhere.

Congress sets the number, and Congress determines the mix as well--the numbers that are in every paygrade.

If we need more people, we simply activate the draft. Of course, we'd better have a compelling reason to do that, otherwise we'll have a real problem, and anyone who voted to effect the draft would be tossed out on their ass.

It is also common knowledge that our equipment is worn out. No secrets, there.

The reason 'real' countries don't take advantage is because we have nukes. You don't need a boatload of troops to put ordnance on target....

[Bonobo]

11. Thanks. Intelligent reply. But it still SEEMS weird, y'know?

"Our army is broken".

Why doesn't Venezuela just invade us?

:sarcasm:

[MADem]

14. Venezuela ain't gonna bite the hand that feeds them--we're one of their best customers

http://technocrat.net/d/2006/8/24/7129

Venezuela sells over a million barrels of oil a day to the U.S.A., even though their president rants and rails against the U.S. government, and Washington of course does the same against him. Venezuela plans to increase their oil sales to China to 500,000 barrels a day in three years, and to a million a day in the next decade.


End strength numbers and some background:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/end-strength.htm

http://www.allianceforsecurity.org/basictraining#ES

[bluerum]

12. If we needed to, we could draft millions of men and women

between the ages of 18 and 40.

The military is not so much broken as it is depleted, worn out, and mismanaged. The squatter has been using it as a political tool and a national policy tool, not a military. A countries military should be represented by it's citizens.

What we have now in this country is a military made up of those who have no choice. The option-less and poor who use service as a means to an education and a stepping stone to better their lives, and the zealots who have an ideology to pursue.

The saddest irony is that the fine officers and soldiers who truly believe in serving and defending our national treasures, are the very patriots whose trust and love of country have been taken advantage of and squandered by the squatter in chief.

[Zenlitened]

15. Well, I'd be outside the age range if the limit is 40.

But I think the limit ought to be much higher than 40, if our country ever truly needed to institute a draft. The military needs all sorts of intellectual skills, too, not just young bodies to carry heavy guns and backpacks into the line of fire. In a true crisis, we could ALL make a contribution.

The current situation, of course, is nothing like that. I'll grudgingly accept this "temporary surge" if it's a genuine recommendation from the generals aimed at cooling Baghdad down enough to make for a safe and orderly withdrawal.

But I expect virtually instant results, quite frankly, and I'm counting on our Dem leaders to step in and declare "game over" if, as seems all-too-possible, this "surge" idea is really just another waste of young peoples' lives.

"Send 'em in to get the rest out"? Okay, lemme see you do it, and on the double, dammit. "Send 'em in to keep the neo-con delusion alive a little while longer"? No chance.

This is exactly the message I'll be faxing to my Senators and Reps in the morning. :mad:

[lies and propaganda]

13. Because its the truth.

I see what youre saying that maybe that isnt the best info to have out there on some levels, but its the damn truth.