But it added that a
focus on one war and counterterrorism efforts would require lighter, more agile
forces, perhaps fewer soldiers, but more Special Operations units and a range of
other requirements, such as intelligence, language and communications
specialists.
The Defense Review,
due to be presented to Congress by next year, is "an effort to create a
construct that will bring a better balance" among domestic Defense, the
antiterrorism campaign and conventional military requirements, the officials
told the daily.
Military officials are
also considering in detail what would happen if the U.S. decided to attack
China, North Korea or Iran.
"The war in Iraq
requires a very large ground-force presence ... War with China or North Korea or
Iran ... would require a much more capable Navy and Air Force," said Loren
Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute, a policy research center in
Arlington, Virginia.
"What we need for
conventional victory is different from what we need for fighting insurgents, and
fighting insurgents has relatively little connection to stopping the spread of
nuclear weapons. We can't afford it all," he added.
