The longer the war in Iraq wears on, the less likely it is that critical military personnel will re-enlist and new members will be recruited. No doubt, President Bush is aware that the numbers in the regular and Reserve forces are shrinking, so now he is faced with either a premature pull-out from Iraq or with ramping up plans for a mandatory draft. The political chance of the draft being implemented is almost nonexistent.
The Iraqi "insurgents" know that, too. They know they don't have to defeat the U.S. forces to get them to leave. They just have to keep inflicting casualties at the current rate and convince the American people that there's no end in sight to the debacle. Sooner or later, the number of Americans who demand that troops leave Iraq will reach critical mass, and our politicians will have to comply or be voted out. The sooner we make that realization as a nation, the better off we'll be. In Iraq, the only thing we should be focusing on now is an exit policy.
Steven E. Yorgason
Sandy