Increasing the military...

Ed Morrissey discusses the plan to increase the military's size.

In one respect, this was a mistake by Don Rumsfeld. We needed at least four, preferably eight, more Army divisions. That said, we also had problems with a bureaucracy that has become way to slow for the 21st century - and Rummy perceived that to be the bigger problem. It was a problem, but Rumsfeld, in his push for transformation, forgot that quantity is also important.

The real issue will be whether this larger force is just for the Army and Marines, or if it will also go for the Navy and Air Force. If we keep the production lines going, the per-unit price for the F-22 will drop to about $117 million. Increasing the production of the Super Hornet, C-17, C-130J, and F-35 will do the same for the other stuff (you'll note that you always get good bargains at BJ's or Costco), like the Zumwalt-class destroyers.