New Military

Cactus at Angry Bear and William Kristol write two articles sharing much of the same opinion of Bush’s new strategy. Neither will come out and state that it is Crap, though this author lacks such inhibitions. The addition of Troop levels (ask military minds about the value of piecemeal attack) will bring a greater entanglement while Troops will still be spread too thin on the ground; this insuring greater Casualties. Any form of Withdrawal will become more complicated, and American losses will rise with staying the course. Cactus does not provide any policy suggestions to Kristol’s query as to what Congress should do, but what advocation holds any value?

The first thing that must be established is American responsibility for any military deployment of U.S. Troops. There should be an Congressional Resolution (passed over the Objection of the President if need be) stating a defined percentage (at least 25%)of Reserves will be Activated, under any American military deployment in excess of 20% of American Active Troop Complement. This simply to inform American families when Reserves will be called, and for what length of time (until the Deployment is over). It will make American Presidents more wary of military adventures, and Congress will automatically notice the increased Cost of military expenditures; to say nothing about Business anger at loss of trained Employees. Those inside the Beltway will realize that American families have a vested interest in Peace.
This Country needs greater military Reserves even more than more Active Duty troops. Check out my Post, The Military Option, for an idea of what must be done to secure American military fortunes. Many Congressmen would claim such a Program too expensive though it is not. Full implementation of the Program would cost a likely $20-30 billion per year in Training and Pay, and hopefully generate a Reserve level of 2 million Troops. The two measures, if passed, would automatically add a probable $100 billion in military expenses per year with the advent of any major American military deployment.

A third measure could greatly deter both American Presidents and Congress: American Weapons Development programs which are not predicted to provide sustainable Weapons systems in the currently-run Conflict will be placed on Hold, with Funding stopped, until after the end of the Conflict with Withdrawal of the majority of Troop complement of the Deployment. This later measure is probably unpassable, in the light of current Congressional context; but, passage of two out of three would better American military posture, and more clearly identify American national interests. lgl