Acerbic Politics

The surge in troops sent ot Iraq could be very costly. From The Progress Report...

"IRAQ -- BUSH ESCALATES WAR BY EXTENDING DEPLOYMENTS, REMOVING TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN: New reports show how President Bush plans to escalate the war in Iraq despite the U.S. military being overstretched around the globe. The Associated Press reports that the Pentagon "has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, ...a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq." Until now, the Guard and Reserve policy "was that members' cumulative time on active duty for the Iraq or Afghan wars could not exceed 24 months. That cumulative limit is now lifted; the remaining limit is on the length of any single mobilization, which may not exceed 24 consecutive months." Additionally, the Boston Globe reports that a U.S. Army battalion "fighting in a critical area of eastern Afghanistan is due to be withdrawn within weeks to deploy to Iraq." The move comes despite "an urgent appeal" from U.S. commanders in Afghanistan for more forces. "Army Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata and other US commanders say [the diversion of forces from Afghanistan to Iraq] will happen as the Taliban is expected to unleash a campaign to cut the vital road between Kabul and Kandahar."