Warning - Don’t Be Confused About the Iraq Military Debate - There Are Two Separate Issues
There are many messages coming out of Washington these days. Some of them are confusing, and, at times. hard to interpret.
Basically, there are two struggles for foreign policy underway.
The first is an apparent internal struggle between the White House and the Joint Chiefs about an idea being floated in the media to send an additional thirty thousand troops to Iraq to help put down the bloody insurgency that has that nation on the verge of collapse. The Joint Chiefs oppose that move. The President will have the final say. But the chiefs, fearing another military disaster, have been unusually outspoken in their opposition. This air of defiance, accompanied by Colin Powell’s statement that our forces are “broken”, puts an enormous pressure on the President to find other solutions. It appears that confusion is still an ongoing problem in the direction of the iraqi game plan.
The second issue is more complex. With the military strapped in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President may seek a boost in troop strength. There are two problems on this one. The Iraq war has been paid for in supplemental funds, about 8 billion a month. Or hidden deficit is through the roof. Yet it is critical that we have the appropriate manpower to remain a powerful force in the world.
The Iraq war, as you can see, has affected us in many ways. As we plan for its future, wev have to look carefully at other military situations. Our finances have been devastated by it. The President has said that the situation in Iraq was a threat to our security.
In many ways, he was right. The lack of leadership and wisdom on that war has drained us of our military potential. Now that is a real threat.
So, there are two debates: what to do about Iraq, and how to strengthen our forces, just in case a more powerful threat to America emerges in the next decade.
