| Summary: | The war in Iraq has exposed the limits of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's transformation agenda for the U.S. military. Rumsfeld has worked to change the military into a lighter, nimbler force that is better able to employ new technology and respond to new threats. It has become clear, however, that although the military is excellent at defeating conventional forces, it is not nearly as good at combating the kind of guerrilla enemies it has confronted in Iraq. Many of the present problems in Iraq have certainly been caused by Rumsfeld's failure to send enough troops to the country and from the precipitous disbandment of the Iraqi military, but they also reveal more fundamental shortcomings in America's ability to deal with unconventional threats. The next stage of U.S. military transformation must concentrate on training substantial numbers of troops for nation building and irregular warfare—and Washington must make this task a top priority.
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