Bush’s plans for military a recipe for disaster

By Jesse D. Hamilton
Senior Staff Writer
January 31, 2007

Last Tuesday during his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush unveiled his new plan for the military over the next five years. The president’s plan, which comes shortly after his controversial decision to surge troops in Iraq, has already been rightfully met with skepticism.

The president asked Congress to authorize an increase in size of the Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 troops over the next five years. This increase would be the largest change in overall troop strength since Bush’s father began downsizing the military in the early 1990s.

Sustaining an all-volunteer military during a time of war is a difficult task. Over the last few years, the military has been struggling to recruit and retain troops, despite lower standards for entrance and astronomically high signing bonuses. This push for an increase in troops can only be achieved by further lowering the standards for military service. Thus, comparatively less qualified individuals will be operating on the battlefield.

Bush also called for a “Civilian Reserve Corps” to supplement our nation’s military in what he described as “the defining struggle of our time.” The Civilian Reserve Corps is merely a fancy name for an organization of mercenaries and a push to further privatize the manner in which America fights its wars. The last thing this country needs is costly, privately owned militias operating independently in combat zones.

Bush himself inadvertently summed up the military’s number one problem last Friday when he told reporters, “I’m the decisionmaker,” in response to criticism from Congress on his handling of the war in Iraq. Let’s examine the president’s military decision-making track record.

It was the president who made the decision to wage war with Iraq to rid the country of weapons of mass destruction. To date, no evidence of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons has been found in the country.

It was the president who made the decision to declare “mission accomplished” on May 1, 2003 on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Since that day, almost 2,500 Americans have been killed in Iraq.

It was the president who made the decision to goad insurgents in a school-boyish fashion when he said, “Bring ’em on” on July 2, 2003. Once again, U.S. troops paid the price, sustaining more than twice as many casualties (20 in June, 55 in July) in the month following the childish taunts from the leader of this nation, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

It does not take a genius to see a correlation between Bush’s decisions concerning the military and the disastrous consequences that follow in their aftermath.

Fortunately, the president does not make the decisions on what government programs and operations receive funding. That responsibility rests on the shoulders of Congress, and this country can only hope that the Democrat majority will put an end to six years of military blunders committed by its commander-in-chief by cutting off funding for his most recent decisions.

hamiltonj2@lasalle.edu