The Marine Corps is planning to call up as many as 2,500 Marine reservists for combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, dipping into a rarely used pool of troops to fill growing personnel gaps in units scheduled to deploy in coming months, officials said yesterday.
It is the first time the Marines have resorted to involuntary call-ups since the initial invasion of Iraq in March 2003, when about 2,000 Marines were ordered into service for a short duration. It means thousands of Marines across the country who have left active service could soon be forced to return.
The above is from Josh White's "Marine Reservists Facing Combat Duty: With Volunteers Lagging, as Many as 2,500 to Be Called Up for Afghanistan, Iraq" (Washington Post) and Martha noted it. Why the call up? "Shortfall." Not enough people signing up (imagine that).
In Sunday's "Recuriters struggle to meet lowered targets but gays and lesbians are still 'unfit'" (The Third Estate Sunday Review), we concluded with this:
At a time when gays and lesbians are still victims of a homophobic policy pushed as an 'advancement,' the reality of Perry Watkins stands as a testament to the cowardice of many. Think about Watkins as the military is resorting to recalling troops who left the service but still have months left on their service contracts. Read Rebeccca Santana's "Troops long out-of-uniform sent to Iraq" (Associated Press) and think about that:
Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Arlington, Va.-based Lexington Institute, said part of the reason that the military has called up so many people who were on reserve status is that certain skill sets such as military police or civil affairs were concentrated in the reserves after the Cold War ended.
But he said the sheer numbers of IRR soldiers being mobilized also are a sign that the military doesn't have enough people to fight this war, now in its fourth year.
Maybe Bill Clinton can make Don't Ask Don't Tell the topic for his next laughable 'bipartisan' op-ed? A petty (US-backed) criminal like Saddam as the equivalent of Hitler, Bill Clinton as a savior? We live in unreal times.
Meanwhile in Iraq, violence and chaos continue. Explosions in Mosul, Falluja and Baghdad so far on Tuesday. Repeating: As Kat noted, today "on KPFA's The Morning Show, after the 8:00 am news (second hour), Bob Watada will be the guest." 8:00 am is PST.
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