The Army's Math Problem

WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE SOLDIERS TO SEND TO AFGHANISTAN UNLESS WE TAKE SOME OUT OF IRAQ.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wants to send 7,000 more U.S. troops—about two brigades—to Afghanistan, according to the May 3 New York Times. But there's a problem, which the story underplays: We don't have any more troops to send. The Army is in a zero-sum state: No more soldiers can be sent to Afghanistan without a one-for-one reduction of soldiers in Iraq.