Carl, there is no draft, but the number of activated guard and reserves is at an all time high, and their proportion in Iraq by the middle of the summer will be 50% of all forces. This is a prescription for disaster, IMHO.
We have almost no combat reserves left; Of the US Army's 10 active duty division, all are either in Iraq, just returned, or are preparing to go. The only forces not touched so far are those in Korea, and those already in Afghanistan.
With currently scheduled unit departures, within a month there will be 20,000 fewer troops in Iraq than there are now. We should be increasing troop levels as the insurgency builds, but for now we are doing the opposite.
Meanwhile, Bush strives to demonstrate American will by sending US Marines into an urban area to conduct house-to-house fighting, negating their advantage in firepower, mobility, and technology. Today we lost 4 Marines in Fallujah, and 12 more in Ramadi to "avenge" the deaths and mutilation of 4 contract security guards last week.
The "coalition of the willing" defeated the Iraqi army in a matter of days and proclaimed victory. This week, the real Iraq war may have begun, uniting Sunni and Shia to oppose the occupation.
But don't worry-- the handover of sovereignty and government will still occur on 1 June. |
