Washington, Aug 06: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sharply questioned whether the US Army needs to be larger despite warnings from its top Army Generals that the 480,000-strong force has been "stretched" by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With nearly 150,000 US troops tied down in Iraq for the foreseeable future and 10,000 more in Afghanistan, questions have been raised about US military readiness if faced with a war in North Korea or elsewhere.
Rumsfeld said the joint staff is currently "re-analysing" US war plans to determine whether existing US forces are sufficient to do what they are now doing and still be able to meet other potential contingencies. The studies, he said yesterday, are finding that "mass is interesting but not necessarily determinative," given the increased "lethality" demonstrated by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Despite the growing toll from deadly attacks on us forces, Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave an upbeat assessment of the progress being made in establishing security. More Iraqis are coming forth to help the occupation forces in Iraq since the killing July 22 of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, in Mosul, Rumsfeld told reporters. Bureau Report