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Thursday, November 09, 2006
Bellwether?
When all is said and done in connection with the Pentagon management shakeup, the Baker commission report and the Dems actively taking control of the legislative branch, I for one will be watching the reenlistment rate among the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I suspect many troops will opt to return to civilian life if they feel that they no longer have support from the policymakers, rather than be jerked around by people who think like John Kerry. And if the re-up rate goes down, original enlistments will probably decrease, too. Nobody wants to fight in a war that the movers and shakers don't want to win. That was true in Korea and Vietnam, and it's true now.
Any new trends should be apparent by March or so, if they are to happen. I guarantee you that any such change will be spun by the lamestream media as Bush's fault, probably accompanied by NYT and WaPo opinion pieces bemoaning what a dumb thing it was to get rid of Rumsfeld.
It sure would be interesting if Charlie Rangel's (D-NY) idea of reinstating the draft had to be implemented by a Democratic congress in order to maintain military force levels. I wonder what the political fallout from that would be in '08.
As an aside, I also think that diminished capacity of our conventional forces, especially the Army and Marines, tends to make nuclear war more likely, because weakness encourages the enemy to attack, and when you must fight, you fight with what you have. The alternative is capitulation.
UPDATE 20061110:1335PST:
Thanks to Instapundit for the link. To those of you who followed it, please feel free to stay awhile and look around--I hope you enjoy what you see and come back often.
By way of background, I, like commenter Spade, was unable to serve due to a medical condition. I would be a Vietnam-era veteran if I had served. My dad retired from the US Army after 30 years of service with the rank of Command Sergeant Major. I have a son who is a Navy officer on active duty and another son who served one hitch in the 10th Mountain Division--he got out before 9/11. I am proud of all three, especially this Veterans Day weekend.
# posted by ExRat @ 8:52 AM
It will be interesting to see what the military thinks of the election and what happens from here on out:
http://outoftherace.blogspot.com/2006/11/bellwether.html
You ALWAYS post the most timely articles Kathianne.
I DO however hope your wrong with this post. I know its not your view, but it is a "wake up call" for our side.
I only wish I was 30 years younger.
This war is worth FIGHTING.
Thank you! I am in a pretty reflective mode right now, as are some of my friends that are well connected with GOP in our state/county. Problem is, don't see this from the top down.
Iraq Veterans Applaud Decision to Replace Sec. Rumsfeld | Print | Email
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
CONTACT: Will Coghlan, (212)-982-9699, [email protected]
Iraq Veterans Applaud Decision to Replace Sec. Rumsfeld
NEW YORK - The nation's first and largest non-partisan organization representing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, IAVA, released the following statement from Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff in response to the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:
"This is welcome news for our troops and veterans who have been paying the price for Secretary Rumsfeld's failures," said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq War veteran and the executive director of IAVA. "The replacement of Donald Rumsfeld is one step down the very long road to correct the mistakes made in Iraq over the past three years."
