Expanding The Military

The San Diego Union-Tribune calls for an expanded active-duty military and increased funding for the armed services.

With many soldiers and Marines on their third or fourth combat deployments, vital equipment lost or worn out, budgets woefully short of replacement costs and stateside units nowhere near combat ready, it's long past time to recognize that we need a bigger and better-funded Army and Marine Corps.

Belatedly, President Bush this week acknowledged the need to add more troops to an undersized, underfunded Army and Marine Corps. The president's imprimatur makes for something approaching consensus. The Pentagon (the Army especially), prominent members of Congress from both political parties, independent experts such as former Secretary of State and former Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell all support adding troops and funding for our overstretched ground forces.

How many new troops and how much new money will be matters of discussion over the next few months.

One thing that they make sure they spell out very clearly is that they are not in favor of imposing a draft. Nor is the military. They also point out something that should be rather obvious: The military, before the cuts during the Clinton Years, was able to maintain an all volunteer force that was half again as big as it is today. The military used to be a quarter million troops larger than it is today. There was no need for a draft then and there is none now.