IN THE NEWS
Government Executive provides two less obvious costs of the Iraq war:
- The Army probably doesn't have the money for the Future Combat Systems (FCS) project, which would replace current weapons and vehicles with next-generation equivalents, designed for a smaller, more mobile force. In other words, the "small is beautiful" strategy attempted in Iraq is now making the "small is beautiful" strategy untenable, in Iraq and everywhere else.
- The Iraq war is gutting the State Department's recruitment efforts.
Maybe State will stop running off "undesirables", like my Christian Evangelical freinds who were in the department, or the non-Ivy Leaguers who were actively discouraged when I was asking folks in college about where I ought to go, or even people with relatives in foreign lands, like myself, who have long been a "no-no" at State, but not in the military?
Nope. I'm willing to bet that just like the Army, which will keep anyone with an asthma diagnosis past age 8 or so from joining, even if he's been clear for years and runs a 4:45 mile, State will not change.
Posted by: Honza Prchal | 08/17/2006 at 13:14