thedrifter
07-05-04, 05:59 AM
06-30-2004
One Prediction I’m Sorry Came True
By Paul Connors
Although being proved right after making a prediction can often result in a sense of self-satisfaction, this is one time I find myself wishing that I was wrong.
That’s because my prediction – made nearly two months ago – was that the U.S. Army was preparing to recall thousands of Individual Ready Reservists to active duty because of the personnel demands overseas.
Mainstream news organizations yesterday reported the Army had confirmed its plans to involuntarily recall to active duty up to 6,500 members of the IRR for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. These recalls are in addition to the activations of constituted units of the Army Reserve and Army National Guard.
To be sure, every member of the IRR who will receive a recall notice is someone with an MOS that the Army has deemed critical to its efforts in either Iraq or Afghanistan. It seems quite improbable that anyone would be yanked back to active duty for a stateside or European assignment.
The involuntary recalls once again confirm the findings of several DefenseWatch editors that the Army is far too small to meet all of its current and potential future commitments. With 475,000 people and ongoing operations in more than 100 countries around the globe, the Army truly needs help.
Since the earliest days of the current administration, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld has badgered and browbeaten senior Army leaders to accept his vision of their future. And time and time again, Rumsfeld has told the media, Congress, his boss at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the American people that the United States has the requisite force levels built into its defenses to meet, counter and destroy any enemy.
Now, even the most obtuse observer of foreign and military affairs will tell you that those statements were nothing but fanciful pipe dreams. Knowledgeable experts on defense matters warned the current leadership at both the Pentagon and the White House that attacking Iraq when we did would place incredible strains on the Army’s abilities to meet all of its taskings.
Publicly, Rumsfeld and his chicken-hawk deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz scoffed at the advice from military professionals whose credibility they denied.
Just prior to his retirement as Army Chief of Staff in June 2003, Gen. Eric Shinsheki predicted that the United States would need at least 250,000 troops to garrison and run Iraq. He was shouted down by Wolfowitz. Shinsheki received zero support from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Richard Myers. The general in Air Force blue, the key military adviser to the president, sat meekly by as the Pentagon’s appointed politicos did all they could to destroy the professional reputation of a man who had attended West Point and for 35 years had protected his country as an officer in its Army.
So a year after vehemently denying that the Army needed more people, Pentagon leaders are ordering significant activations of entire Guard and Reserve units, as well as the deep searches the Army has conducted of its personnel records to recall members of the IRR.
What is perhaps most disheartening, especially for those facing recall, is that the war in Iraq is becoming seen as an elective war, one that may not have had to be fought (or at least not when we did). The arrogance, hubris and disregard for the opinions of our traditional allies meant that they would not be standing by our side as we toppled Saddam’s barbaric house of horrors.
For me, it was very easy to identify who would have to pay the heavy price for what may well prove to be a badly considered war and reconstruction plan: The men and women in uniform. They are the ones picking up the tab for the rest of us.
What is especially egregious about this willful ignorance of sound military and political advice is that this war has gotten more than 850 American warriors killed. And if one can believe the mainstream news media, they died for a people who don’t even appreciate their valor, nobility and sacrifice.
With the massive recalls of Army Guard and Reserve units and now the involuntary recalls of members of the IRR, the situation has come full circle. The predictions of now-retired Gen. Shinseki have borne a bitter fruit. The United States is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the real war against terror receives mere lip service. As the current administration continues to try to extricate itself from the trap it created, it has now re-introduced the military draft by default. The men and women of the U.S. Army and its reservists, Guardsmen and IRR members are paying a heavy price for the hubris in Washington.
History has shown us that tragic mistakes and dire consequences can be avoided. As we slog our way through the morass in Iraq, it is long past the time where a president’s loyalty to a favorite cabinet member should end. A president’s first loyalty should be to the nation he has sworn to “protect and defend.” So far, the guy this president has chosen to lead our military has done a pretty dismal job.
Just ask the 6,500 members of the IRR being recalled to active duty if they think Rumsfeld and his aides have performed up to expectations.
Paul Connors is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at paulconnors@hotmail.com. © 2004 Paul Connors. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=549&rnd=746.3125091071748
Ellie
One Prediction I’m Sorry Came True
By Paul Connors
Although being proved right after making a prediction can often result in a sense of self-satisfaction, this is one time I find myself wishing that I was wrong.
That’s because my prediction – made nearly two months ago – was that the U.S. Army was preparing to recall thousands of Individual Ready Reservists to active duty because of the personnel demands overseas.
Mainstream news organizations yesterday reported the Army had confirmed its plans to involuntarily recall to active duty up to 6,500 members of the IRR for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. These recalls are in addition to the activations of constituted units of the Army Reserve and Army National Guard.
To be sure, every member of the IRR who will receive a recall notice is someone with an MOS that the Army has deemed critical to its efforts in either Iraq or Afghanistan. It seems quite improbable that anyone would be yanked back to active duty for a stateside or European assignment.
The involuntary recalls once again confirm the findings of several DefenseWatch editors that the Army is far too small to meet all of its current and potential future commitments. With 475,000 people and ongoing operations in more than 100 countries around the globe, the Army truly needs help.
Since the earliest days of the current administration, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld has badgered and browbeaten senior Army leaders to accept his vision of their future. And time and time again, Rumsfeld has told the media, Congress, his boss at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the American people that the United States has the requisite force levels built into its defenses to meet, counter and destroy any enemy.
Now, even the most obtuse observer of foreign and military affairs will tell you that those statements were nothing but fanciful pipe dreams. Knowledgeable experts on defense matters warned the current leadership at both the Pentagon and the White House that attacking Iraq when we did would place incredible strains on the Army’s abilities to meet all of its taskings.
Publicly, Rumsfeld and his chicken-hawk deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz scoffed at the advice from military professionals whose credibility they denied.
Just prior to his retirement as Army Chief of Staff in June 2003, Gen. Eric Shinsheki predicted that the United States would need at least 250,000 troops to garrison and run Iraq. He was shouted down by Wolfowitz. Shinsheki received zero support from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Richard Myers. The general in Air Force blue, the key military adviser to the president, sat meekly by as the Pentagon’s appointed politicos did all they could to destroy the professional reputation of a man who had attended West Point and for 35 years had protected his country as an officer in its Army.
So a year after vehemently denying that the Army needed more people, Pentagon leaders are ordering significant activations of entire Guard and Reserve units, as well as the deep searches the Army has conducted of its personnel records to recall members of the IRR.
What is perhaps most disheartening, especially for those facing recall, is that the war in Iraq is becoming seen as an elective war, one that may not have had to be fought (or at least not when we did). The arrogance, hubris and disregard for the opinions of our traditional allies meant that they would not be standing by our side as we toppled Saddam’s barbaric house of horrors.
For me, it was very easy to identify who would have to pay the heavy price for what may well prove to be a badly considered war and reconstruction plan: The men and women in uniform. They are the ones picking up the tab for the rest of us.
What is especially egregious about this willful ignorance of sound military and political advice is that this war has gotten more than 850 American warriors killed. And if one can believe the mainstream news media, they died for a people who don’t even appreciate their valor, nobility and sacrifice.
With the massive recalls of Army Guard and Reserve units and now the involuntary recalls of members of the IRR, the situation has come full circle. The predictions of now-retired Gen. Shinseki have borne a bitter fruit. The United States is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the real war against terror receives mere lip service. As the current administration continues to try to extricate itself from the trap it created, it has now re-introduced the military draft by default. The men and women of the U.S. Army and its reservists, Guardsmen and IRR members are paying a heavy price for the hubris in Washington.
History has shown us that tragic mistakes and dire consequences can be avoided. As we slog our way through the morass in Iraq, it is long past the time where a president’s loyalty to a favorite cabinet member should end. A president’s first loyalty should be to the nation he has sworn to “protect and defend.” So far, the guy this president has chosen to lead our military has done a pretty dismal job.
Just ask the 6,500 members of the IRR being recalled to active duty if they think Rumsfeld and his aides have performed up to expectations.
Paul Connors is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at paulconnors@hotmail.com. © 2004 Paul Connors. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=549&rnd=746.3125091071748
Ellie