How Many Times?

Just how many times in the past five years have you seen this story:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sapped by nearly six years of war, the Army has nearly exhausted its fighting force and its options if the Bush administration decides to extend the Iraq buildup beyond next spring.

The Army's 38 available combat units are deployed, just returning home or already tapped to go to Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere, leaving no fresh troops to replace five extra brigades that President Bush sent to Baghdad this year, according to interviews and military documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Just exactly what will happen when the military is "exhausted". Will all the soldiers simply lay down?

Of course not.

You and I both know that the damage will be subtle, systemic and incremental. Each time this story is floated, Bush does whatever he wants and the generals enable it. Thus the story becomes a "crying wolf" sort of story, namely not credible.

Until there are some more dramatic and tangible manifestations of the military "breaking", the voting public is simply not going to pay attention. Something like all the joint chiefs resigning or a wholesale call for a draft would be notable. But that hasn't and isn't going to happen as the military continues to salute and do what Bush tells them. I'm not advocating a coup. But a military person can refuse to be part of the destruction. Until then, these stories are frankly a big yawn politically.