Another escalation...

If the new Democratic House and Senate can prevent Bush escalating troop levels--remember this phrase from the Vietnam war years?--it will be a first in U.S. history. The majority of politicians, as now, have evidently assumed a majority always support military spending; hence the fear of "voting against appropriations for the troops" effectively eliminates the only power reserved to
Congress: appropriations. Even Ted Kennedy acknowledges defeat in the current contest, since Congress will not get to consider the funding until it gets the bill--figuratively and literally--next month, by which time the escalation will be underway. One factor may disrupt the escalation. The army has 39 combat brigades--3500 men each--and EVERY ONE of them has already done from 1 to 4 years of combat duty in Iraq! In addition, the army's general rule is that a combat brigade requires TWO YEARS, for each year in combat, to replace personnel, repair equipment, retrain, etc. Talk about being "stretched thin!" I hope somebody mentions this tomorrow...