Imagine - A force too small to provide security to Iraq, some folks in Afghanistan, and US ground forces are strained beyond the limit.

And dumping good folks into a quagmire Cheney/bush refuses to acknowledge for political reasons, because they would look bad, is unfair to everyone. Good people are dying, families suffering, because Cheney/bush will not provide them with enough support.

Because Cheney/bush doesn't want to look bad. It sure looks as if they will do anything to keep themselves in power.

By Michael Hirsh and T. Trent Gegax
Newsweek

July 12 issue - Publicly, the Pentagon insists it's getting the manpower and money it needs for Iraq and Afghanistan. But as those conflicts drag on, Army planners are privately growing more worried about a looming crisis. The problem is not quantity—the Pentagon says recruitment remains steady—but a loss of quality. Green Berets, for instance, are now considered trained after four years instead of seven. Some officers say the biggest worry is a mass exodus of experienced mid-level officers and, especially, noncommissioned officers (NCOs) who are fed up with all the time they're spending in theater. And once the "third rotation" of troops into Iraq begins in 2005, more careerists may call it quits. "I'm afraid that between April and September of 2005, we'll break the Army," says one Army general involved in logistics.