US force nears limit of its global reach

So many United States troops are now deployed to so many different places around the world that the American military may be in danger of overextension.

Consider the state of the Army, the service most affected by the nation's foreign commitments. There are still upwards of 150,000 soldiers in Iraq, plus 10,000 in Afghanistan. Some 5,000 remain on peacekeeping duty in the Balkans.

Add in 25,000 GIs based in Korea, plus other foreign stations, and the deployed total is close to 250,000.

This global peacekeeping force must be generated from an active-duty Army of 480,000, plus 550,000 reserves. At the least, the strain may play havoc with training and leave. At the most, it could cause many tired and homesick personnel to leave the service.

On Wednesday, President Bush said workload concerns might limit any US peacekeeping mission in Liberia.

"One option to look at is mobilizing some of our many National Guard forces," says Marcus Corbin, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information.

The Pentagon could also lean more on the Marine Corps to supplement Army peacekeeping troops, and perhaps even apply to Congress for an increase in Army strength of 10,000 to 20,000 personnel. And of course, the US could also solicit troops from allies that opposed the Iraq war.

Allies after being ignored and insulted by this administration are not that cooperative.