US military "stretched thin" admits top general

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030824/pl_afp/iraq_us&cid=1521&ncid=1473

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The head of the US military admitted that his forces are "stretched thin" but could find more troops for Iraq if needed as the US administration made Iraq a frontline in its war on terrorism.

Amid mounting calls for more troops in Iraq, General Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said: "We are stretched thin, but we have more troops to send. We have other ways to do that."

The US and British force in Iraq has had to confront mounting attacks as well as growing insecurity highlighted by the attack on the UN offices in Baghdad last week which killed 23 people, including UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Myers insisted in an interview on NBC television that the 150,000 US troops in Iraq was adequate. He said that if US commanders in Iraq requested more forces then reservists could be called up.

Senator John McCain, a Republican, and Senator Joseph Biden, a leading Democrat, both made calls for military reinforcements and extra money to sent to Iraq.

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[grytpype]

1. Hey, wouldn't this be a good time for China to invade Taiwan?

Just asking.

[grytpype]

2. "We have other ways to do that."

"We are stretched thin, but we have more troops to send. We have other ways to do that."

Yeah. It's called the draft!

How many Young Repuglicans are going to take a college deferment? I wonder....

[DuctapeFatwa]

5. Shouldn't be any problem with a draft, as long as it's just the poor

The voting class would support a draft as long as there are robust mecahnisms in place to prevent affluent young people from being sent into harm's way.

[DuctapeFatwa]

3. Luckily there are only 3 or 4 more oil countries to occupy

Oh, and Africa. And it's not really stretched thin if you add the countries who have been ordered to present their armies for duty.

Yeah, I know, they have to make a few strongly worded statements for show, but basically, if India and France and Japan and Germany don't do as they told, they get bombed.

Barring their collective formation of their own coalition of the willing and taking military action to bring about regime change in the US and liberate its people, their only other choice is to bend over and spread.

[ex_jew]

6. Too bad one of those countries is Iran,

which threatened to destroy the Saudi oil fields if attacked ! How exciting would that be.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. WJ this morning Robert Perito senior advisor at USIP said,

"our military is stretched way too thin"

USIP>>>united states institute for Peace

[lebkuchen]

7. They could call up more reservists, use UN forces or draft

They could call up every able bodied CEO who has never fought in a war, putting their lazy asses to work rather than continuing to sponge off the working class, as they have all their lives.

Notice how Rummy is hanging on for dear life to privatizing base support while moving every single available soldier to the front. He could have relied on the UN since Day One, and yet he created this unneeded exhaustive deployment scenario to push his avaricious need to privatize base support and siphon taxpayer dollars to his pals in CEO offices rather than doing the right thing for our troops by not invading to begin with.

The man is scum and should be removed from office.