Thank you.
This response relates to our military capability to do the whacking. The army is in very bad shape, which is largely due to the efforts of Donald Rumsfeld to privatize the military. During his tenure, we have seen the reduction of our armed forces and dismantling of military installations; and at a time when our reserves and National Guard units are stretched to the breaking point leaving the nation unmanned and unprepared to meet our global commitments and provide for the national defense, or even respond to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. This had been an ongoing battle with Secretary Rumsfeld, and his plans have not been well-received by Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, and very possibly lead to his resignation as Secretary of Defense. Any real Republican will tell you we need more (not less) armed forces and military facilities.
In addition to reducing the size of the military, Secretary Rumsfeld wanted to do away with the Division based structure of the army, and replace it with a smaller, more agile Brigade - smaller even than the current T.O.E. (Table of Organization and Equipment). See CRS Report for Congress, U.S. Armys Modular Redesign: Issues for Congress (Updated May 5, 2006). This is a bad idea. We have over fifty years of experience with the modern Division, which has proven successful in every combat environment and theater of operation. The Brigade structure wont work because it is simply too small to be self-sustaining in the field; and without the logistical support that is component to the Division-size organization, will be ineffective (i.e., it will very rapidly run out of beans and bullets needed to sustain combat operations). Experience has shown that the Division is the smallest unit ground force capable of independent combat operations; and yet flexible enough to be tailored to meet any contingency and rapid deployment anywhere. Secretary Rumsfelds proposal to scrap the Division was (and still is) overwhelmingly opposed by the army brass, and more than a few generals were cashiered (forced to retire) for voicing their opposition to it.