KavkazCenter - U.S. army overstretched in Iraq, Afghanistan

U.S. army overstretched in Iraq, Afghanistan

The U.S. army has become dangerously overstretched because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which force the Marine Corps to take extraordinary measures to boost both manpower and equipment, according to an article on the Mercury News.

On Tuesday, the Marine Corps said that it has been authorized by President Bush to recall as many as 2,500 inactive reservists to involuntary military service in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to meet manpower needs; the first such call-up since 2,700 soldiers were recalled to active-duty before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

The Marine Corps describes the move as prudent planning, but critics say that the announcement shows that the U.S. army is overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The call-up coincided with a report by two military experts who said that the Marines have to take equipment from non-deployed units to replace tanks, trucks, armored vehicles and other hardware worn out by the war in Iraq.

Critics say the latest developments show that the U.S. army is facing difficulties in maintaining its combat readiness with the Iraq War entering into its fourth year.

According to the BBC, the Marine Corps is only allowed to recall up to 2,500 Marines for duty at a time. But the authorization is open-ended and will only expire when the so-called "Global War on Terror" (GWOT) - a war whose parameters are largely undefined - ends, so many thousands could eventually end up serving.

One correspondent says that the U.S. military has already recalled up to 10,000 inactive reserve soldiers. But he adds that the smaller Marine force plays a key role in Iraq where they serve in the most dangerous parts of the war-torn country.

Democrats, who have been pushing for a change of course in Iraq, say that the call-up shows how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are straining U.S. forces.

"After serving our nation, often for more than one tour, these men and women are being asked to once again shoulder a heavy burden," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a frequent critic of Bush administration policy on Iraq. "The drain on our soldiers, their families and the military's resources caused by today's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan need to be addressed immediately or there will be severe long-term consequences for the nation and our military," he added.

More than 2500 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since the war started. In addition to the human cost, the Iraq War put unprecedented wear and tear on the Marine Corps' trucks, tanks and other combat equipment, according to a report by the Center for American Progress and the Lexington Institute, two policy research groups that study national security issues.

Helicopters fly more hours than they should, tanks are being used four times as much as anticipated, and Humvees, that are expected to last 14 years, need to be replaced after only four years, the reports says.

"This war in Iraq has a very heavy equipment cost, and this bill is going to have to be paid for years to come," said Larry J. Korb, a former Pentagon official and co-author of the report.

Due to this heavy equipment cost, the Marines have been forced to borrow equipment from non-deployed units and pre-positioned stockpiles in Europe and elsewhere to maintain sufficient combat gear for units in Iraq, seriously hampering the military's ability to respond to a crisis elsewhere, said Korb, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

"If, heaven forbid, Korea breaks out or something like that, you wouldn't be able to do as well as you should," he said.

Korb and co-author Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, estimate that the Marines Corps will have to spend more than billion to replenish their ground and aviation equipment. This figure will grow by billion for every year the Marines remain in Iraq, the two experts said in their report.

Source: AlJazeera