Free Republic

<p>Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sharply questioned yesterday whether the Army needs to be larger, despite warnings from its top generals that the 480,000-strong force has been "stretched" by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p> <p>With nearly 150,000 U.S. troops needed in Iraq for the foreseeable future and 10,000 more in Afghanistan, questions have been raised about U.S. military readiness if faced with a war in North Korea or elsewhere.</p>

When Congress gets back from its August recess, you'll hear some caterwauling about how Big Dog is conducting a political purge of the Army. But what is going on in the Army right now is apparently not directed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and is not even a purge. But it may be the beginnings of one. As soon as Mr. Rumsfeld took office, his plan to transform America's military ran into various levels of resistance in each of the services. The Navy was shaken by the thought that the aircraft carrier would have to evolve from its current...

Rumsfeld: Anti-Terror War Drives DoD Transformation Efforts By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2003 – The ongoing war against global terrorism makes U.S. military transformation efforts an imperative goal, DoD's top civilian and uniformed officer said here today. Accompanied by Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld opened a Pentagon town hall meeting by thanking service members and civil servants both here and around the globe for their "remarkable" efforts since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. "You and...