By Kristin Roberts
Reuters, 22 March 2007
WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday the Army would face tough cuts without emergency funds but insisted the Iraq and Afghan wars had not so stretched U.S. forces that they could not win a third war.
He painted a mixed picture of the impact Iraq has had on U.S. military readiness at a time when the Congress is considering tying the Bush administration's request for emergency war funding to a deadline for pulling troops out of the conflict.
Gates has previously raised concerns about Democrats' moves to set a withdrawal deadline. But he would not say on Thursday what Congress should do, or discuss President George W. Bush's threat to veto a bill linking funding to a pullout timetable.
"I think it's my responsibility to let everybody involved in the debate know the impact of the timing of the decisions," he said. "I think that that's about as far as I should go."
More than four years into the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the U.S. military shows increasing signs of strain. Top defense officials say the United States would prevail in a third major confrontation, but it would take longer.
Gates said potential U.S. adversaries should not think the United States is too weak to fight.
"Our ability to defend the United States despite the heavy commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan remains very strong and every adversary should be aware of that," he said.
But other developments raise questions about readiness, including the secretary's enumeration of problems the Army would face if Congress does not pass $100 billion in emergency funding.
Gates said if Congress does not approve the funds by April 15, the Army might have to curtail or suspend some training for reserve forces, slow training of units scheduled to go to Iraq and Afghanistan and stop repairing equipment used in training.
If the funds are not approved by May 15, Gates said, the Army might have to extend some soldiers' tours because other units are not ready, delay the formation of new brigade combat teams, reduce equipment repair work at Army depots and delay or curtail deployment of combat teams to training.
Also, in another signal of stress, the military said on Thursday 1,200 Marines and sailors would stay in Okinawa, Japan, for an additional five months so other Marines scheduled to move into Iraq can stay home and train for the mission. That allows the Marine Corps to maintain its target for "dwell time" -- the time a Marine is home between deployments.
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Citation: Kristin Roberts. "Gates warns of Army stress without emergency funds," Reuters, 22 March 2007.
Original URL: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22232590.htm
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