Reuters reports that Gen. George Casey, US Army Chief of Staff, now backs a troop surge in Afghanistan. This, by the way, is the same Gen. Casey who was the US commander in Iraq during the nadir of US military fortunes there in 2007, when the talk was of looming defeat - at which point Bush brought in David Petraeus, whose "Surge" brought the US "success" in Iraq.
In speaking with CNN, Casey also noted, in re the ongoing strain on US forces, that
"The Army remains out of balance. But we started in 2007 with a program to get ourselves back in balance by 2011. And since 2007, we have added 40,000 soldiers to the active force, which is a significant step forward,
Those added soldiers are, of course, largely a product of new enlistments. And many of those new enlistments, of course, are a product of the US's economic downturn, with the jobless rate now over 10 percent (and by some measures, actually as high as 17 percent) and the military offering both a steady wage and a sizable bonus for signing on.
We all want the economy to improve, and for new jobs to be created . . . don't we?
In speaking with CNN, Casey also noted, in re the ongoing strain on US forces, that
"The Army remains out of balance. But we started in 2007 with a program to get ourselves back in balance by 2011. And since 2007, we have added 40,000 soldiers to the active force, which is a significant step forward,
Those added soldiers are, of course, largely a product of new enlistments. And many of those new enlistments, of course, are a product of the US's economic downturn, with the jobless rate now over 10 percent (and by some measures, actually as high as 17 percent) and the military offering both a steady wage and a sizable bonus for signing on.
We all want the economy to improve, and for new jobs to be created . . . don't we?
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