You are quite right. The editorial staff of the NYT has the military knowledge, experience and judgment equal to the leader of a gay girl scout troop. Moreover, they are using this to advance their agenda to bring about the defeat of the United States in the War on Terror. This will certainly be result if U.S. Policy follows the NYT lead.
However, the facts behind the propaganda are troubling. During the Vietnam War, we skipped an entire generation of modernization (except for the Air Force, they never skip anything) at great risk to the country in order to fight the war at the level we thought necessary. Was the risk worth it? It think so, but others disagree.
In this case, we have chosen the other course: continue Modernization as planned and take risk with our committment to the current fight. This, in my view, is far riskier. If we are perceived by the world to be beaten in Iraq, we will reap a bloody harvest for years to come - and our transformational systems may never be brought to bear in the fight.
The Army has said for years that it needs 2 more divisions (or the equivilent combat brigades, combat battalions - you take your pick). We are quickly running out of time to decide, recruit, equip, train, and deploy these divisions. Wellington said that Waterloo was a very near run thing. What would he have said if he has come up just a bit short? Answer, nothing - Napolean would have hung him before he had a chance to speak.
We are currently in the process of expanding the force to 48 Combat Brigades. We have 37 now. The other problem is utility. During Vietnam we had faced an evolving strategic threat that in some ways better equipped then us. Now days any future threat cannot even hope to fight what we field now and win. A big heavy armor force ready to re fight the 1991 Gulf War would be a huge mistake. We simply face no one able to field such a threat. What we need a more flexible professional force. One that could kick Iran's butt, run Counter Insurgency against Iraqi terrorists and still field a force to contain North Korea all at the same time. We need the right force not just the biggest force. Building the right force takes time. It cannot be done just by snapping the fingers.
Using masses of Conventional Troops in Counter Insurgency missions give you the disasters like Napoleon in Spain or the Russians in Afghanistan more often then not. Some times the important lesson to learn from History is what NOT to do.