Time for chickenhawks to ante up

from Daily Kos:



Time for chickenhawks to ante up



Uh oh. We're being stretched thin:

Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist said the U.S. military is struggling to keep up the fight against insurgents who want to disrupt the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq for a new national assembly.



Frist, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," declined to say whether he would support extending the current 24-month tours of active duty for reservists and U.S. National Guard members. He said that might hurt recruitment.



"We are straining our Guard and reservist personnel," Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said of the part-time force that makes up 40 percent of the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

We need more troops, and where, oh where, can we find people who think the war is peachy, justified, and going great to help fill the ranks?



Atrios suggests the 101st Fighting Keyboardists, and that's a wonderful idea! I mean, they argue that things are improving, right? So they should have nothing to fear. How many war supporters in Congress and the White House have sons, daughters, and grandchildren aged 18-35? A bunch, I bet. And let's not forget the civilian leadership in the Pentagon.



And all those Bush voters who stood at attention when words like "freedom is on the march" were uttered? Time to ship out. Cause, really, Bush needs you.

The Army Reserve, a force of 200,000 part-time soldiers that provides key support in Iraq and Afghanistan with medics, engineers and truck drivers, "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force," its top general told senior Army leaders.



In a blunt memo, Lt. Gen. James R. "Ron" Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, noted the demands of overseas commitments and the unwillingness of Army and Pentagon officials to change "dysfunctional" policies that hamper the Reserve on issues such as training, extension of service and the mobilization of his soldiers.



The Dec. 20 memo, which was obtained by The Sun, says "current demands" in Iraq and Afghanistan put his command in "grave danger" of being unable to meet other potential Pentagon missions or help with domestic emergencies, and that the Army Reserve "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force."

(Read the full memo here (PDF).



Url: Time for the Chickenhawks to Ante Up