Webb, Military Experts Warn: Strained Military Compromises Troop Welfare, National Security

Webb Says Greater Diplomacy Necessary to Stabilize Region, Unburden U.S. Armed Forces

November 14, 2007 -- Washington, DC — Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) today, along with Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), retired U.S. Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence J. Korb and Third Way Vice President Matt Bennett, warned that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have significantly strained our ground forces, affecting troop readiness and threatening national security.

During the roundtable in the U.S. Capitol, Senator Webb called for more active diplomacy in order to stabilize the region and ease the burden placed on the U.S. armed forces.

“The region is in chaos, from Lebanon to Pakistan,” said Webb. “And a policy of U.S.-led robust diplomacy is the only way to truly bring a measure of stability.”

“The administration has continuously had three options to stabilize the situation in Iraq: meaningful international diplomacy, national reconciliation within the country, and the employment of our military. We have ignored the first, failed at the second, and continually fallen back on used this third option, calling on our military time and time again,” said Senator Webb. [Audio clip #1 below]

“Every time there has been a crisis, our military has done all that has been asked of it tactically to control the battle space before them. But, until we have a smart diplomatic formula in place to match the work of our servicemembers on the ground, we will remain mired in Iraq, and we will continue to have an overburdened military. We have placed great strain on our men and women in uniform through repeated and extended deployments and left ourselves ill-prepared to respond to crises in other regions of the world.”

Webb observed that multiple and extended tours of duty, coupled with a strategy that lacks aggressive diplomacy, have resulted in the Army experiencing a serious challenge retaining sufficient numbers of soldiers required to grow the Army.

In September, Senator Webb introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act requiring that active-duty troops and units have at least equal time at home as the length of their previous tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. Similar provisions were included for members and units of the National Guard and reserve components. The measure received a clear majority of 56 votes in the Senate, but did not reach the number of votes needed to break a Republican filibuster.

“The basic concept of military leadership is loyalty to your troops—that’s the glue that keeps military cohesion together. And, if you lose faith in the notion that your senior leaders are truly looking out for you, that’s when you start seeing people head for the door,” said Webb.

General McCaffrey echoed Senator Webb’s point: “The departure of so many talented captains and majors tells me the Army is at risk of breaking. We simply can’t fight today’s or tomorrow’s wars without them, and they are leaving in alarming numbers.”

“After four and a half years of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, there ought to be a way that we can meet our mission without doing this to our military men and women,” said Webb.

Source: Senator Jim Webb

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