On Bonuses and Leaving Iraq

The New York Times | Editorial

Tuesday 16 October 2007

There are new signs that an American military in distress is reshaping itself to cope with the destructive fallout of Iraq - and to look beyond it, even as President Bush insists on dispatching Americans to go on fighting and dying there. Young officers have been offered big cash bonuses to stay in an Army struggling to retain them. The Marines, meanwhile, are trying to move out of Iraq and into Afghanistan, a more popular mission where they could focus on America's real enemies - al Qaeda and its allies, the Taliban - instead of trying to police a civil war.

The unprecedented bonuses - up to $35,000 - are a sign of desperation. Lengthy and repeated tours in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan have created critical shortages of younger officers in such important specialties as military intelligence, aviation - and even in the infantry as more and more men and women choose to leave the service rather than re-enlist. The Washington Post reported that when its expansion plans are factored in, the Army is projecting a shortage of 3,000 captains and majors annually through 2013.

What does it tell you when the Marines are considering shifting their mission to Afghanistan? Perhaps it's too glib to say that they see a failing fight in Iraq and are trying get out while they can, but it's certainly not good news for Pentagon war planners or the rest of America.

Thom Shanker of The Times reported that Pentagon supporters argue that the proposal, which envisions consolidating Army forces in Afghanistan with those in Iraq, would simplify planning for future troop rotations and make it easier for each branch to sustain troop levels.

Many questions are unanswered, but some experts suspect that the Marines are positioning themselves for a new American president - when troops would be phased out of Iraq and a new struggle for budget resources would be in play. Taking on the Afghanistan mission under overall NATO command would give the Marines a more visible role than in Iraq, where the Army fielded the largest number of troops, and - presumably - more clout to argue for increased defense spending.

The bonuses are another desperate reminder of how little planning was done for the Iraq war, and how much damage it has done to America's forces. They are also the right thing to do, especially given the prolonged sacrifice demanded of the troops and their families. We are agnostic at this time on the Marine's proposal for Afghanistan but are relieved that at least somebody is starting to plan for leaving Iraq.

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