Despite strains, U.S. could fight a third war: Gates*

By Kristin Roberts
Reuters
Thursday, March 22, 2007; 6:24 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates cautioned on
Thursday the Army would face problems without emergency funds but
insisted U.S. forces could fight a third war despite being stretched in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

He painted a mixed picture of the impact Iraq has had on U.S. military
readiness at a time when Congress is considering tying a Bush
administration request for emergency war funding to a deadline for
pulling troops out of the conflict.

Gates had raised concerns about a demand by some Democrats to set a
deadline. He declined on Thursday to say what Congress should do or to
discuss a threat by President George W. Bush to veto a bill linking
funds to a withdrawal timetable.

"It's my responsibility to let everybody involved in the debate know the
impact of the timing of the decisions," he said. "I think that that's
about as far as I should go."

More than four years into the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the U.S. military
shows increasing signs of strain. Top defense officials say the United
States would prevail in a third major confrontation, but it would take
longer.

Asked how the U.S. military was positioned in the face of commitments in
Iraq and Afghanistan to deal with a major confrontation in a third
state, Gates said adversaries should not think the United States too
weak to fight.

"Our ability to defend the United States despite the heavy commitments
in Iraq and Afghanistan remains very strong and every adversary should
be aware of that," he said. He did not identify any specific adversaries.

QUESTIONS REMAIN

But questions remain about readiness, and the secretary enumerated
several problems the Army would face if Congress does not pass $100
billion in emergency funding, such as curtailed training and equipment
repairs.

Gates said by way of example that if Congress did not approve the funds
by April 15, the Army might have to curtail or suspend some training for
reserve forces, slow training of units scheduled to go to Iraq and
Afghanistan and stop repairing equipment used in training.

If the funds are not approved by May 15, Gates said, the Army might have
to extend some soldiers' tours because other units are not ready, delay
the formation of new brigade combat teams, reduce equipment repair work
at Army depots and delay or curtail deployment of combat teams to training.

Also, in another signal of stress, the military said on Thursday that
1,200 Marines and sailors would stay in Okinawa, Japan, for an
additional five months so other Marines scheduled to move into Iraq can
stay home and train for the mission. That allows the Marine Corps to
maintain its target for "dwell time" -- the time a Marine is home
between deployments.