A weary Army

U.S. war planners' miscalculations continue to exact their costs. Senior officials have insisted from the outset that there was no shortage of troops to cope with the postwar insurgency in Iraq, and that if commanders ask for more troops they will get them -- knowing that commanders wouldn't ask for what their civilian bosses are disinclined to provide. Now the Army has admitted that it's overstretched. Many soldiers, both active-duty and reservist, are being required to extend their tours if their units are to be redeployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. In many cases that means an enforced delay of their scheduled separation from what is officially an all-volunteer army. ...

What's done is done, but now thousands of young Americans must endure the rigors of front-line duty for as long as they're needed. In the meantime, those -- especially in Congress -- who have faulted the administration for asking too much of too few should press for sensible redeployments, but not election year- inspired calls for expanding the Army. ...

-- The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California