Rumsfeld Shuffle

The Pentagon is finally getting around to shifting troops from Germany and Korea to places where they might actually be of some use. It always galls me when people insist we need to bring back the draft (for military, rather than egalitarian, reasons), while ignoring all the soldiers we've got "defending" countries perfectly capable of defending themselves.

"For Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld," The New York Times explains, "the reasons for the reshuffling seem clear and compelling: that the purpose of military units is to fight and win the nation's wars, and they should be stationed in locations that enable the United States to use them most efficiently and with minimal political restrictions." But critics worry that the plan could "inadvertently lend support to the French contention that Europe must rely on itself for its security." Just to be clear: That's the downside.