The American Spectator

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(Page 5 of 7)

John Roche may or may not be the right man for the job as Army Sec. As I have argued to you before, the Air Force Academy mess and Roche's solution to it is not the proper issue on which to make that judgment. The very fact that there was a serious, and indeed, systemic question to be investigated shows me that the Academy was out of control and drastic measures were needed. Besides, I suspect that Roche will do just about what Rumsfeld tells him to do and will keep arguments behind closed doors. Either that or he will be gone also. And as for Gen. Shinseki, if there was ever a better example of symbolism over substance, PC over effectiveness, I can't perceive it. He was truly Clinton's (his or hers) kind of General.

p>As for Gen. Franks, it may be just as well that he demurred on the job of Army Chief of Staff. Reach down and pull up a true "in-his-very-bones" believer of the special units concept of modern fast and agile warfare. I say "units" to include the Airborne and the Rangers, as well as Special Forces and Delta Force. Then, as you suggest, cancel some of the misguided programs and reinforce the upgrade on the M1A1 and the Fighting Vehicle programs. br> -- Ken Shreve br> New Hampshire /p>

So the Abrams is the best there is, if you can get it there. How do you propose to do that? And having achieved that goal, how are you going to keep supplied with the fuel it needs to keep running.

p>Weight is the Abrams greatest enemy. Weight makes it hard to transport, forces its engine to consume huge quantities of fuel, and limits where it can operate. Ultimately that is the problem that must be solved. br> -- Steven Dugger /p>

Jed Babbin replies:: Yes, weight is an enemy, but you need mass. The Army seemed quite able to get the Abrams to the battlefield, and keep it well-fueled in Iraq. I don't say that we need nothing else, only that Stryker is a bad solution to the problem. Better to upgrade the M113 to the A3 version -- at vastly less cost -- and use some of the money saved to upgrade Abrams. The choice is neither Abrams or nothing, nor Stryker or nothing. The choices are many, and the good solutions don't include a peacekeeping truck that won't fly on a C-130.

p> RACE TO THE FINISH br> Re: Wlady Pleszczynski's

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