WASHINGTON-
Colorado’s senators said Wednesday they were concerned about the military’s resources in Iraq and Afghanistan after the Pentagon announced all active-duty Army soldiers there will serve an extra three months.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ announcement “demonstrates how stretched our current forces are in Iraq and around the world,” said Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar, who has criticized President Bush’s handling of the war.
Republican Sen. Wayne Allard said the announcement “is a recognition that we need to increase the overall number of active-duty troops as opposed to relying too much on our National Guard and Reserves to fulfill our troop level needs in Iraq.”
Allard, who supports Bush’s Iraq policy, said the Pentagon has assured him it can meet its needs with a voluntary Army.
Gates’ announcement Wednesday means active-duty troops will serve 15-month tours, starting immediately. It is the Pentagon’s latest coping strategy as it tries to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and keep more troops in Iraq as part of Bush’s latest plan for stabilizing Baghdad.
It comes as Bush’s conflict with the Senate over funding for the war heats up.
The Democratic-controlled House and Senate recently approved spending bills for the war that also include a deadline for bringing troops home.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., have proposed limiting funding for combat operations by next spring to force Bush to pull troops out of Iraq.
Bush has said a deadline will put troops at risk. Although he offered this week to meet with Democrats about the war, he signaled he is not interested in compromising on the issue.
Salazar has said he would not support cutting off funding for the troops. But he said Wednesday he is concerned that troops and equipment are stretched too thin.
He also criticized Bush’s offer to talk, saying the president isn’t really interested in hearing other opinions about the war.
“The reality is that we need to find a way forward; we need to stop the mistakes that have happened in the past and the blundering that has occurred,” Salazar told reporters in a conference call. “The administration needs to take its hands off its ears and start listening to people.”
Salazar said last week that he would introduce legislation to put in place the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. The bipartisan group of policy experts suggested last December that U.S. combat troops could be pulled out of Iraq by early next year.
