Michael Fumento

Just months ago we were being told that because of the Iraq war, the military (especially the Army and Marines) couldn't recruit soldiers for love (of country) or money. In other words, it was yet another reason to insert tail firmly between legs and pull out. Well, last I heard the war is still going on but according to Reuter's, "The U.S. Army posted its best recruiting month in four years in August . . ." Nevertheless, right after those elipses I inserted into the quote Reuter's goes on to say, the Army will still miss its annual goal for the first time since 1999 "as the Iraq war makes it difficult to attract new soldiers." Excuse me, but did the war go on vacation in August or might there have been something more to the slowness of recruiting earlier on in the year that was unnrelated to Iraq such as a steadily improving economy and dropping jobless rate? But then, that's not fodder for abandoning Iraq to terrorism, is it?