The biggest mistake was not activating the draft (flame as you will).
Our military was in rough shape coming off of 8 years of the Clinton regime. Mid-level and senior military were being pushed out by downsizing and "scandals" or they were choosing to leave because of Clinton's use of the military for his pet social experiments. Experienced pilots were also leaving because of the hiring boom at the airlines as the Vietnam era pilots were retiring.
Our military is way overtaxed and they are darned tired. Of course they'll keep pressing forward, but we need to be picking up the pace, bringing more into the fold. And if we can't get these numbers voluntarily, then we ought to reinstate the draft to fill some more boots. Our troops barely have time to pee on American soil and they are already ramping up for the next deployment, a third, fourth and fifth time.
There is little evidence that we can't fill the boots voluntarily. The fact is that the numbers are capped by Congress, both via the budget and actual numerical caps. The Caps have been waived to some degree for the Army and Marines, and the President is requesting that the caps themselves be somewhat raised. By about 90K, IIRC. However the Air Force and Navy are being reduced, even as many Air Force and Navy personnel are being used for ground missions, such as EOD and Convoy escorts.
No flames from this direction, getmeoutta. You nailed what I've been feeling and saying for some time now, only you've said it better.
a_perfect_lady, the use of the pronoun, "we" and the contraction of it, "we'll" does not accurately reflect the countries involvement in Iraq and the wider "war on terror." Mobilization of man (and woman) power and industry right after 9-11 should have been one of the first orders of business in Washington. Increasing the Army and Marine Corps end strength by of total of 90,000 could and should have been done within six months after 9-11. Now, without a draft, it will be almost impossible to do when you consider the mood of the country.