September 30, 2007 (LPAC)--Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, the commander of U.S. forces in Japan, told the Associated Press, in an interview this week that the war in Iraq is reducing the availability of U.S. troops and equipment to meet other contingencies, said that the war is also eating funds that could go towards replacing or upgrading airplanes that are being pushed to their operational limits, the average age of the Air Force's F-15 fighters being 24 years and KC-135 tankers average 46 years old. Meanwhile, the Chinese have been investing heavily in improving their military with state-of-the-art fighters built in their own factories or purchased from Russia and an air defense system that Wright says would be "difficult if not impossible" for U.S. fighters to penetrate. "Our planes are much older than the planes they would be matched against," Wright said. Wright stressed that he is "positive" about efforts to increase engagement with China but he said that the Chinese military buildup is "disconcerting."

Wright's comments are consistent with recent statements made by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Casey, who told the House Armed Services Committee, last week, that the strain of the Iraq war on the Army means that the Army has no capability to respond to contingencies elsewhere in the world. Sources close to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have told LaRouchePAC that the military is putting a spotlight on all of the problems that have arisen from the Iraq war, the drain on manpower and equipment, especially, and Wright's comments should be seen as part of that drumbeat.