How Big Does The U.S. Military Need To Be In Future Conflicts?

U.S. soldiers train for the full spectrum of operations from the new Army Field Manual 7-0 which provides the standards for when troops are deployed. The soldiers are training at the Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Oct. 9, 2008. U.S. Army photo

Is US Fighting Force Big Enough? -- Christian Science Monitor

America needs a bigger military to stabilize weak or potentially threatening nations, some analysts argue.

Washington - American's armed forces are growing bigger to reduce the strains from seven years of war, but if the US is confronting an era of "persistent conflict," as some experts believe, it will need an even bigger military.

A larger military could more easily conduct military and nation-building operations around the world. But whether the American public has the appetite to pursue and pay for such a foreign-policy agenda, especially after more than five years of an unpopular war in Iraq, is far from clear.

Last week, the Army released a new manual on "stability operations" that outlines for the Army a prominent global role as a nation-builder. The service will maintain its ability to fight conventional land wars, but the manual's release signals that it expects future conflicts to look more like Iraq or Afghanistan than World War II. While Defense Secretary Robert Gates has not publicly supported expanding the force beyond what is already planned, he has said the United States must prepare for more counterinsurgency wars like the ones it is fighting now – a hint that a larger military may be necessary.

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My Comment: A decade ago, the U.S. military was geared to be able to fight two major conventional wars. It appears that the goal is to now be able to fight one conventional war, and a few unconventional wars. If that is the case, the U.S. military is in need of a major boost.