Iraq: squaring the circle

a lot of the debate over whether the u.s. should withdraw or "stay the course" in iraq seems to miss a couple of points. prime among them: we may not have any choice the reserves are "broken" (see also here), recruiting is plummeting (1, 2, 3, 4, etc), and those who are already in are getting out any way they can (see also these articles about the increasingly broken army: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). the current troop presence in iraq is unsustainable (emphasis added): even more importantly, the human costs to the all-volunteer army, especially, have been staggering. the army currently has 17 brigades deployed in iraq, from an active force of 33 brigades, which should grow to 44 brigades as the result of internal army restructuring. most reserve component brigades have already been called ...