Beef Up The Troops

And no, we don't need a new draft to do it.

by Rod D. Martin
November 29, 2006

Arnaud de Borchgrave's too-pessimistic assessment of the situation in Iraq today suggests that increasing troop strength in Iraq would necessitate Charlie Rangel's draft (which he ironically states would be killed by the Democrat Congress, as if Republicans never -- much less routinely -- voted down Rangel's bill in years past).  This is just wrong.  But perhaps more to the point, the Administration is wrong not to do it, and here's why.

The President is exactly right, militarily speaking, to follow his generals' advice, and that advice calls for current troop strength.  The last thing we need is a President picking bombing targets on an Oval Office map ala LBJ.  Nevertheless, the White House has obviously been tone-deaf regarding the fact that this war -- like Vietnam -- is being mostly decided at home.  Military victory isn't worth much in a democracy if the folks back home don't believe it's happening.

And of course, that victory is a shifting thing a…