Washington – Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday disputed reports suggesting that the U.S. military is stretched thin and close to a snapping point from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, asserting “the force is not broken.”
“This armed force is enormously capable,” Rumsfeld told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. “In addition, it’s battle-hardened. It’s not a peacetime force that has been in barracks or garrisons.”
Rumsfeld spoke a day after The Associated Press reported that an unreleased study conducted for the Pentagon said the Army is being overextended, thanks to the two wars, and may not be able to retain and recruit enough troops to defeat the insurgency in Iraq.
Congressional Democrats released a report Wednesday that also concluded the U.S. military is under severe stress.
Reports suggesting that the U.S. military is close to the breaking point are “just not consistent with the facts,” he said.
In an apparent shot at the Clinton administration, Rumsfeld said a number of components of the armed forces were underfunded during the 1990s, “and there were hollow pieces to it. Today, that’s just not the case.”
He said there were more than 1.4 million active U.S. troops – 2 million counting National Guard and Reserve units – of which only 138,000 were in Iraq.
“Do we still need more rebalancing? You bet,” Rumsfeld said.
The secretary suggested he was not familiar with reports suggesting an overburdened military. But, he said, “it’s clear that those comments do not reflect the current situation.”
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and ex-Secretary of Defense William Perry, both members of the Clinton administration, were among the authors of the study that congressional Democrats released. It said U.S. ground forces are under “enormous strain,” and that “this strain, if not soon relieved, will have highly corrosive and potentially long-term effects.”
