Thought it might be time to revisit this thread..
errata: [rumsfeld] "But HE DOES have a good idea with the military. He want s to break it's ranks down to better trained, smaller mobile units.. which use communications and intelligence instead of brute force. He is an opponent of bombing civilian areas (not because he is concerned for life, but because it is radicaly inneffecient!)..."
here's your 'slimmed down' army for you:
BBC:
Soldiers angered by 'unfair' Iraq call-ups"..since July, the army has begun the process of calling up 5,600 IRR members to fill gaps in the forces serving in Iraq.
People such as mechanics, engineers, carpenters and cooks, like Mr Armstrong, are being told to report for duty. "
Washington Post:
More Troops Needed In Iraq, Officials Say"U.S. and foreign officials say it is increasingly clear that more armed forces will be needed in Iraq over coming months to secure the nation's first democratic
elections, to protect against the possibility of an insurgent offensive during Ramadan and to allow U.S. commanders to launch a major counteroffensive to quell
the rebellion in the Sunni Triangle."
Canoe:
U.S. deserters seek refugee status"VANCOUVER -- An American soldier who fled to Canada to escape the politics of what he says is an illegal war now hopes politics in this country can save him
from being forced back home. Brandon Hughey, 19, fled Fort Hood, Texas, in March because he said he doesn't believe the U.S. war in Iraq is legal or moral."
AntiWar.com:
A Draft After the Elections? "It is fair to ask how many wars our imperial nation can fight with its hard-pressed volunteer forces, many of whom are now forbidden to leave when their
enlistments run out."
New York Times:
A Family Says an Unexpected Goodbye to a Reluctant Soldier"Alan grew disenchanted with the National Guard, and the feeling seemed mutual. After he stopped showing up for duty, he was given a general discharge. His name
was still placed on an inactive duty list - a roster he was told was only for an unprecedented national disaster that active-duty soldiers couldn't handle alone.
Barring such an event, he could continue building his civilian life as a plumber. He packed away his uniform, and none of us ever thought about it again.
Until last month. Alan received orders to report for "involuntary" duty on Sept. 12. Not in Florida, where hurricanes have uprooted people's lives. In Iraq. For
a year and a half: 545 days to be exact, with two possible extensions."
Crispy kids?
Most deaths linked to coalition"Most deaths linked to coalition
U.S. forces, police killing twice as many Iraqis as rebels are, ministry finds
According to the ministry, the interim Iraqi government recorded 3,487 Iraqi deaths from April 5 — when the ministry began compiling the data — until Sept. 19. Of those, 328 were women and children. Another 13,720 Iraqis were injured, the ministry said.
...
Other independent organizations have estimated that 7,000 to 12,000 Iraqis have been killed since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared an end to major combat operations."
And on and on...
