Prometheus 6

In Let Our Allies Contemplate What Life Will Be Without Us, ex-Mayor Ed Koch says

But I am concerned with the even more shocking statement made by Colin Powell on "Face the Nation," that the U.S. army was "about broken." No one, to the best of my knowledge, has used that kind of expression before. Imagine the satisfaction it must have given to the leaders of al-Qaeda, the leaders of the insurrection in Iraq and particularly the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his supporters who have constantly inveighed against the U.S. and predicted the disappearance of America, as well as the elimination of Israel.

Your knowledge need supplementing. 

General: Cut Iraq strength by one-third
By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer

The U.S. would have to slash combat forces in Iraq to 10 brigades by Christmas to keep the Army from breaking, said retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey. See McCaffrey’s GWOT presentation.

Saying he thinks “we’re stuck now,” he acknowledged that pulling out five of the 15 brigades now on duty in Iraq by the end of December is not feasible.

Oh, but he's retired. He's out of the loop, right?

Wrong.

General Says Army Will Need To Grow
Iraq and Afghanistan Are Straining the Force, Chief of Staff Warns
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 15, 2006; A01

Warning that the active-duty Army "will break" under the strain of today's war-zone rotations, the nation's top Army general yesterday called for expanding the force by 7,000 or more soldiers a year and lifting Pentagon restrictions on involuntary call-ups of Army National Guard and Army Reserve troops.

Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, issued his most dire assessment yet of the toll of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the nation's main ground force. At one point, he banged his hand on a House committee-room table, saying the continuation of today's Pentagon policies is "not right." 

Da Mayor suggest the USofA threaten to withdraw from Europe, Japan and South Korea if we don't get some help. He suggests they relieve us of duty in Afghanistan so we can focus on Iraq. I think that's a fine suggestion if you want to hurry the development of post-colonial world politics.