!!Pentagon Abandons Active-Duty Time Limit

OH! MY! GOD!--DIGTHEHEAVY---By ROBERT BURNS

AP Military Writer
January 11, 2007 - WASHINGTON — For the first time since President Bush mobilized the
National Guard and Reserve after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon is
abandoning its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to
serve on active duty. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters
Thursday that the change would have been made even if Bush had not
ordered an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, further straining the Army
and Marine Corps. The Pentagon also announced it is proposing to Congress that the size
of the Army be increased by 65,000, to 547,000 and that the Marine
Corps, the smallest of the services, grow by 27,000, to 202,000, over
the next five years. No cost estimate was provided, but officials said
it would be at least several billion dollars.

Defense Secretary Using Soprano Language?

News
Hounds

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Today on Fox On Line with Bill Hemmer, he had a video clip of Robert
Gates, Secretary of Defense talking about Bush's escalation of troops
in Iraq. Gates choice of language was a little suspect, though.

Gates said, "One of the most important committments that the Prime
Minister has made is that in this offensive the military will have the
authority to go after all lawbreakers. There are no exceptions. I'm
not gonna hang specific targets on specific people but all lawbreakers
are susceptible to...uh...being detained or...uh...um...taken care of
in this campaign.

Comment: Is the procedure of detainment and torture going to continue
under this defense secretary, too? I'm not sure of what exactly he means
by *taken care of*, but it sounds somewhat like a Tony Soprano remark.