WASHINGTON — Despite growing strains on U.S. forces, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld insisted Tuesday that the Pentagon needs to exhaust every alternative before asking Congress to increase the overall size of the active-duty military force.
At a Pentagon briefing, Rumsfeld argued that the armed services can shift some tasks now handled by the military to private contractors or federal civilian employees, move part of the burden to allied armies, and find ways to rely more on labor-saving weapons technology.
"The way to get the right number is not, the first time you see a spike in activity, as we do right now in Iraq, to immediately decide, 'Well, the solution's to increase end strength,' " he said.
Rumsfeld's comments came as Congress and the Pentagon debate whether the military is big enough to handle the global war on "rogue" states and terrorists that has forced the Army to deploy 21 of its 33 combat brigades overseas. Of the remaining Army brigades, most are awaiting new assignments abroad, refilling their ranks or on standby for service in other possible crises.
Some senior Army officials, pointing to the strains on the top war-fighting units, have suggested in recent weeks that the services might soon be asking Pentagon officials and Congress to increase the size of the force.
In his confirmation testimony last week, the new Army Chief of staff, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, said he needed to assess the Army's troop needs.
"But I'm going to take a little risk here and I'm going to tell you that, you know, intuitively, I think we need more people. I mean, it's that simple," he said.
Some lawmakers from both parties have prodded the Pentagon to acknowledge its needs and to quickly ask for an expansion, so that training of new forces can begin.
Rumsfeld, however, insisted Tuesday that Schoomaker's comments should not be interpreted to mean that the new chief believes more troops are needed. The Defense secretary said that while he maintains an open mind on the issue, a Pentagon review now underway has so far not shown that the military has done all it can to find other ways to solve the problem.
"At the moment, I don't believe that anyone that I've talked to has evidence that argues that we have done those kinds of things sufficiently effectively that one could make a case for increasing end strength," or total force size, Rumsfeld said.
