Surging from Where?

Apparently McCain has come around to the long held position of progressives that we need more troops in Afghanistan. McCain's change in positions is welcome. But there is a big question McCain needs to answer: Where are the troops going to come from?

We don't have any spare capacity in our ground forces. A few months ago the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, General Cody noted that:

The combat readiness of the total Army (active units, the National Guard, and the Army Reserve) is in tatters... The simple fact is that the United States currently does not have enough troops who are ready and available for potential contingency missions in places like Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, or anywhere else...

The only way to significantly increase troops in Afghanistan is to reduce our forces in Iraq -- as Senator Obama is proposing. So is McCain proposing a drawdown from Iraq -- and if so by how much? If he isn't -- then this is just another vapid and incoherent policy proposal from John McCain.  

Comments

[AzRealProgressive]

The Stratfor people just published a piece today on this very same column. Take a look at it, I believe it is free to do so. They have always been independent of the MSM and pride themselves on that.

They believe we are not winning in Afghanistan today. They believe the surge succeeded in Iraq. Abd the reasons are outlined. It would be a complimentary piece to read along with this column. Good information.

[Charley2u]

That McCain and Bush has adopted this talking point, should be a clue to progressives.

Why do we need more troops in Afghanistan? If Israel could sit down and talk with the PLO, and Britain can sit down and talk with the IRA, why must the killing go on in Afghanistan?????

Why not a negotiated settlement with all Afghans, including the Taliban, to end the fighting???

http://pogoprinciple.wordpress.com/

[ZaneC]

Well said! I believe it is time some "progressives" realize that militarism is not the solution to everything, or even most things, for that matter. Diplomacy should always come first and should not be abandoned lightly.

[hopeless277]

McCain wants to recruit from the prison system. He figures that they'll be killed anyway so what's the problem?

[TexasDem0]

The answer is:
He doesn't know.
He didn't say that.
He didnt deny saying that.
The surge is working.
What was the question?

[bunkai]

McCain takes credit for this so-called surge. Wasn't he the co-architect of the Iraq debacle and shouldn't this at the very least have included a sufficient force necessary to carry out what ever their mission was in the first place? In other words the surge is just a correction of an already bad idea and again shows this guy hasn't got the judgement or experience required to be CIC and that he knows how to win wars that we shouldn't be involved with in the first place.

[blaqntelligence]

Not to mention that he's said Iraq will give them the direction they will need for Afghanistan......
Correct me if I've got this wrong.......

- Afghanistan was responsible for 9/11.....
- We attacked Iraq.....
- Staying in Iraq will teach us how to win the war in Afghanistan.....
- WHAT?!?!?! Did I miss something?