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How much time did the Army have to plan for Iraq? They had 12 YEARS since the fall of Kuwait. Rummy and rest of the JCS did not want to keep the status quo after 9/11.

The Army has to get smarter about it's operations. It has to be more flexible and leaner and lighter. The US does not have the airlift and sealift to put divisions on the ground in days. It took them 6 months to get ready. The other services were in the AOR within weeks, not months or years.

I can understand where Rummy is coming from. Hell - the Army has not gotten out of Germany, Kosovo, Korea,Japan, Egypt and Haiti is still a steaming pile.

As for China, there are plenty of strategic targets that will make life unbearable for the Chinese. I would not want to set foot in the country, wartime or not. And if something does happen; they will not be driving tanks across the Pacific or Airdropping Chairborne rangers during the first strikes.

The Army didn't put itself into those places you mentioned. Your political leadership did. Spare me Messiahs who come in with the concept that light brigade size units are the answer to all military problems. And by the way, did you notice that Iraq took two of the heaviest divisions left in the Army? In point of fact, the last two major US victories (Afghanistan being the exception) were classic blitzkriegs). And I don't think you can plan on a war with China where they just sit there and let us do what we want. Rumsfeld"s flexibility is no flexibility at all. It's his vision or no vision. I thought what he did to Sheshinski, and the Sec/Army was a disgrace. And I think his theories of how to make war are bull sh*t.

The other services used the same lift (air and sea) as the Army -except a few amphib ships that did not carry all the Marine stuff. Rummy tinkered with the Centcom TPFDL to move other services first. Nice cheapshot, but wrong.