The military had no problem recruiting directly after 9/11 because everyone understood that we had been attacked. But now the military's ability to attract recruits is being hampered by the prospect of prolonged, extended and repeated deployments, inadequate equipment, shortened home stays, the lack of any connection between Iraq and the brutal attacks of 9/11, and - most importantly - the administration's constantly changing, undefined, open-ended military mission in Iraq.
Murtha again talking about how our military is "broken" and "worn out":
Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth," Rep. John Murtha told a civic group.
Fast forward to today:
WASHINGTON -- The Army is ending its best recruiting year since 1997 and expecting similar success in 2007, despite the weight of grim war news from Iraq, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said Thursday.
In an Associated Press interview, Harvey said the Army will enlist its 80,000th soldier on Friday, reaching its goal for the year with eight days to spare. That is a considerable turnaround from last year when the Army missed its target for the first time since 1999 and by the widest margin in more than two decades. . . .
The outlook for 2007 is brightened a bit by the fact that the Army expects to begin the new recruiting year with about 14 percent of the target number of 80,000 already signed up.
Don't hold your breath waiting for Murtha to admit that he's wrong. In fact, don't expect any Democrats to come out and applaud this heartening war-time news. Most of them are probably too busy cursing the fact that good news on the war front is making its rounds through the public while they're busy trying to campaign on the defeat ticket.
Despite the best efforts by the left/media to convince the public otherwise, America's military is just fine. We are more than capable of completing the mission in Iraq and leaving that country as a free and democratic ally in the midst of a region we are going to be having problems with for decades to come.