More Troops? The Real Threat is Here

Although the attempt to increase the US military presence in Iraq is grabbing all the headlines, the real threat we face is efforts to increase the size of the US military at home.

Giving some future George Bush more troops to play with would only invite further fiascos like Iraq: it would be like giving gasoline to an arsonist. If anything, the size of our military should be decreased.

Our future wars should be more like Afghanistan, where we have many partners and not just token support from diehards like Tony Blair of Britain.

If a future George Bush were forced to seek partners because he didn't have sufficient troops for unilateral action, he'd have to build a coalition by providing credible evidence of a threat (as Bush's father did in 1991).

Faking or fudging Weapons of Mass Destruction evidence wouldn't fool most partners, just as it didn't work with our older, more experienced friends in Europe, such as France, Belgium, and Germany, and our brave soldiers wouldn't be sacrificed for nothing.

Those who value the lives of our brave troops should just say "no" to a bigger army.