Spring Break
Defense secretary hopes to deepen cuts
Robert Burns
Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: News
Gates was particularly pointed in his criticism of a proposal by Sen. James Webb, D-Va., to require that troops be given as much time at their home station as on deployments to the war front. Today, active-duty Army units are on 15-month deployments with a promise of no more than 12 months rest, and Marines who spend seven or more months at war sometimes get six months or less at home.
Gates said that while he believed such proposals are well-intentioned, they have serious flaws. He said, for example, that Webb's amendment, if enacted, would force him to consider again extending tours in Iraq.
"We would have to accept gaps in capability as units that rotate home aren't replaced right away for periods perhaps of weeks," Gates said. It also might put troops' lives in greater danger by reducing opportunities for incoming units to get acquainted with their responsibilities by working for a few weeks with outgoing units, he said.
"The other message I worry some of the amendments send is that it sends a signal to potential adversaries that we're stretched so thinly and that we are so strained that we cannot adequately respond to crises elsewhere in the world," Gates said. "And that's not a correct view, if others should take it, but it is a worry."
In a visit to the Marine base at Quantico, Va., on Friday, Bush said commanders in Iraq would "have the flexibility and the troops needed to achieve the mission," and he urged Congress to heed the advice of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, not to withdraw too speedily.
"I also expect the Congress to support our men and women in uniform and their families," Bush said.
Gates, striking an optimistic note, said that if the current plan for troop withdrawals between now and next summer are carried out fully, it is possible that some U.S. units will not have to serve a full 15 months.
"Maybe 14 months, 14 and a half months, 13 and a half months," he said. "We just don't know right now. It will all depend on a lot of ifs. But just looking at the mathematics of it, that's a possibility."
Gates said that while he believed such proposals are well-intentioned, they have serious flaws. He said, for example, that Webb's amendment, if enacted, would force him to consider again extending tours in Iraq.
"We would have to accept gaps in capability as units that rotate home aren't replaced right away for periods perhaps of weeks," Gates said. It also might put troops' lives in greater danger by reducing opportunities for incoming units to get acquainted with their responsibilities by working for a few weeks with outgoing units, he said.
"The other message I worry some of the amendments send is that it sends a signal to potential adversaries that we're stretched so thinly and that we are so strained that we cannot adequately respond to crises elsewhere in the world," Gates said. "And that's not a correct view, if others should take it, but it is a worry."
In a visit to the Marine base at Quantico, Va., on Friday, Bush said commanders in Iraq would "have the flexibility and the troops needed to achieve the mission," and he urged Congress to heed the advice of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, not to withdraw too speedily.
"I also expect the Congress to support our men and women in uniform and their families," Bush said.
Gates, striking an optimistic note, said that if the current plan for troop withdrawals between now and next summer are carried out fully, it is possible that some U.S. units will not have to serve a full 15 months.
"Maybe 14 months, 14 and a half months, 13 and a half months," he said. "We just don't know right now. It will all depend on a lot of ifs. But just looking at the mathematics of it, that's a possibility."
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