http://www.dailybreeze.com/opinion/articles/1584477.htmlLast month, Army recruiters fell 42 percent short of their goal, according to the Army Recruiting Command. They had hoped to sign up 6,600 volunteers; but despite bonuses of up to $20,000 for those willing to report by May 30, they fell 2,779 recruits short.
Those numbers are ominous. If they continue in the months to come, as seems likely, they threaten not merely our ability to stick it out in Iraq, but also the Army's long-term ability to perform its duties worldwide. And the reason for that decline is obvious.
In April of 2004, around the first anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, 73 percent of Americans believed the war was worthwhile; only 23 percent did not, according to a CNN/Gallup poll. So recruiters had little trouble filling their quotas.
Today, though, only 41 percent of Americans believe the war was worthwhile, while 57 percent do not.
As a result, we now find ourselves in a very grim race. As former Pentagon comptroller Dov Zakheim described the situation in a recent panel discussion in Washington, "Will we become weary before the insurgents become weary?"
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