Where would the troops for such a "surge" come from? It would mean earlier deployment for some troops. Some who are there would have to stay longer, and Reserves and National Guard troops would be called up again. The local implications of all of this are big.

The Los Angeles Times cites "top military officials" as saying:

[...] that such a buildup would require them to reverse Pentagon policy and send the Army's National Guard and Reserve units on lengthy second tours in Iraq.

Under Pentagon policy, Guard and Reserve units have been limited to 24 months of mobilization for the Iraq war. That means most Reserve units that already have been sent to Iraq are ineligible to return.

But the Joint Chiefs of Staff have concluded that a significant troop buildup would require the Pentagon to send Guard and Reserve units for additional yearlong tours.

Such an order probably would be controversial among the nation's governors -- who share authority over the Guard -- and could heighten concerns in Congress over the war and Bush's plans for a troop increase.

In addition, National Guard leaders were skeptical of calls for additional combat tours, which they fear could hurt recruiting and retention.

"If you have to sustain a surge long-term, you have to use the Guard and Reserve," said a Defense Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the president had not unveiled his strategy shift.

[...] Any boost in combat forces will require some increase in Reserve support units, such as engineering or intelligence teams. But because of training requirements, National Guard infantry forces are unlikely to be used as part of the initial buildup. However, they would be needed later in the year to sustain a higher level of forces.

Some troops not slated to go to Iraq until late spring would go right away, and they would stay longer. Twelve-month tours would be lengthened to 15 months. The Army had a goal of allowing soldiers to be home for two years before being redeployed. That has already turned into 12 months for some.

The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo., says:

"What's been proposed is that (Army) brigades that were getting ready to go over there in the spring, from March to June, should go over there now, and that everybody else would get moved up a little bit," said John Pike, director of the research group globalsecurity.org.

In addition, Army troops might remain in Iraq for 15-month tours instead of 12 months, and Marines probably would extend their six-month tours to 12 or 15 months, Pike said.

The changes were outlined in a surge plan proposed last month by Frederick Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, Pike said.

The surge also could require expansion of the Army by four more brigades (about 3,500 soldiers each), or 14,000 soldiers, and increased use of National Guard troops to sustain higher troop levels in Iraq.

All of the changes expose the problem that has prompted warnings from some military observers that Army and Marine force levels are currently too small to escalate troop numbers in Iraq or sustain such an escalation.

Of course, rural areas will feel the surge the most because rural areas have a higher death rate in the war.

The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle says:

The death rate per million population aged 18 to 54 was 60 percent higher for soldiers from rural areas than those from urban and suburban areas, the study [by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire] said.

The higher rate is linked to higher enlistment in rural areas due to diminished job opportunities, the study said.

The numbers also mean that the war is felt deeply in rural parts of the country.

Dee Davis, president of the Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies, said a pre-election poll by his organization found that three-fourths of respondents in rural communities knew someone fighting in the Middle East.

"For a lot of small towns and rural communities, the war's not abstract," he said. "In rural America, people know who's actually fighting."

The Carsey Institute study says [PDF]:

In addition to Vermont and Delaware, Oregon, Nebraska and Arizona also lost a highly disproportionate number of service men and women from rural areas.

Members of Military Families Speak Out, an organization of more than 3,100 military families against the Iraq war, are telling reporters they're willing to comment on President Bush's new plan for Iraq. The group says "many of these families expect that their loved ones can or will be affected by any escalation in troop strength in Iraq, either because they will be extended beyond their scheduled return date or because they will be deployed early."

Protein Water

Just when so many people are trying to start the new year with a weight-loss plan, the Special K cereal people have a new product out called "Protein Water," which seems to promise it will help you lose up to six pounds in two weeks.

MousePrint.org, a Web site that examines the fine print in advertising, helps us understand what this protein water is supposed to do for us. It turns out that the real weight-loss plan isn't so much about the $1.25 bottle of water as it is replacing a regular meal you might eat with a bowl of cereal (sort of like you did in college).

The 7 O'Clock News

Here is an idea you will see more often: a 7 p.m. local TV newscast instead of a 5 p.m. newscast. In market after market, stations are pulling out of the crowded early evening time slots and going for a later time, when audiences are more available.

Warm Weather = Lower Heating-Oil Prices

The unusually warm winter so far is pushing heating-oil prices down. People just don't need to turn their furnaces on as much, so consumption is down and supply is high. Some folks have already saved hundreds on heating bills this winter. Here is a story.

The warm weather is also hurting ski resorts in the Northeast. It is the worst season in 25 years.