Article 1 Section 8

Tue May 3,11:11 PM ET
-WASHINGTON The U.S. military may not be able to win any new wars as quickly as planned because the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have strained its manpower and resources, the nation's top military officer told Congress in a classified report. Among the most likely conflicts the Pentagon foresees in the near term are with North Korea and Iran, the two remaining members of President Bush's "axis of evil."

Tue May 3, 6:11 PM ET
-WASHINGTON (Reuters) The U.S. military's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have constrained its ability to tackle other potential conflicts, making any future war more likely to be longer and bloodier, according to America's top general. In an annual classified report required by Congress, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said stress on manpower and equipment could limit the ability to win other possible wars as quickly as the Pentagon had previously forecast, defense officials said on Tuesday.

Wednesday, 4 May , 2005 12:26:00
ELEANOR HALL: The United States' most senior military officer, General Richard Myers, has reported to the US Congress that the deployment of US troops to Iraq and Afghanistan will make it more difficult for the US military to fight other potential conflicts and to deal with the threat of terrorism. In a classified report to Congress, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has concluded that while the US military would be likely to win any future conflicts, it might not be able to do so as quickly as planned and may have to sustain higher casualties.

Increasing U.S. Ground Forces PNAC January letter:

The United States military is too small for the responsibilities we are asking it to assume…The administration has unfortunately resisted increasing our ground forces to the size needed to meet today's (and tomorrow's) missions and challenges…

So we write to ask you and your colleagues in the legislative branch to take the steps necessary to increase substantially the size of the active duty Army and Marine Corps…

There is abundant evidence that the demands of the ongoing missions in the greater Middle East, along with…commitments elsewhere in the world, are close to exhausting current U.S. ground forces. Yet after almost two years in Iraq and almost three years in Afghanistan, it should be evident that our engagement in the greater Middle East is truly, in Condoleezza Rice's term, a "generational commitment." The only way to fulfill the military aspect of this commitment is by increasing the size of the force available to our civilian leadership.

In sum: We can afford the military we need…We do insist that we act responsibly to create the military we need to fight the war on terror and fulfill our other responsibilities around the world.

Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution places the power and the duty to raise and support the military forces of the United States in the hands of the Congress. That is why we, the undersigned, a bipartisan group with diverse policy views, have come together to call upon you to act. You will be serving your country well if you insist on providing the military manpower we need to meet America's obligations, and to help ensure success in carrying out our foreign policy objectives in a dangerous, but also hopeful, world.

Respectfully,


Shills for a Greater Israel