RAND: Strength Shortfall Could Be Disastrous

A senior analyst for the RAND Corp., a Washington-based think tank, cautioned that plans to reduce total Army strength could pose serious national-security problems. “The Army is headed for potentially dangerously low levels of capabilities and will have difficulty in meeting foreseeable challenges,” Timothy M. Bonds of RAND’s Army Research Division, told the National Commission on the Future of the Army Aug. 19. Bonds cited three specific threats that could be impacted by the cuts: terrorist threats, aggression in multiple theaters, and prevention of the spread of weapons of mass destruction.