US Army Still Broken and Getting More Hollow By the Day

The question is: will a Democratic Party controlled congress do anything about it?

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey went before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, and told them:

"The cumulative effects of the last six-plus years at war have left our Army out of balance, consumed by the current fight and unable to do the things we know we need to do to properly sustain our all-volunteer force and restore our flexibility for an uncertain future."

This isn't news to anyone who has actually been paying attention. Nearly a year ago, I wrote a long article titled, The Hollow Army. Nothing has changed since then in terms of military readiness to address emerging issues around the world. The bottom line is that the U.S. is so hamstrung in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the military is stretched so thin, that nearly any tinpot dictator can get away with nearly anything around the globe that might otherwise require a military response from the U.S.

It's more than just personnel, too. The Bush administration led America into its Iraq folly nearly five years ago. And the troops that are there still aren't receiving the proper equipment to protect themselves and carry out their mission. FIVE YEARS.