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Originally Posted by kato13
The media makes mistakes on reporting military matters all the time. We all know that.
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So true. Before 9-11, a newspaper in Seattle ran a story claiming that the Israeli Army was larger and more powerful than the US Army and the USMC combined. A friend forwarded me the article and asked for comment. I replied that the Israeli Army at full mobilization fielded more soldiers than the active US Army. However, one ran into a few logistical problems. Comparing full mobilization in a nation that relies heavily on long-term reserves (Israel, Switzerland, and Sweden) to active duty in most other nations is a great example of apples and oranges. Also, the media doesn't generally understand that Israel cannot keep its forces at full mobilization for any length of time without facing economic collapse. I wouldn't expect the run-of-the-mill media type to understand what s/he is looking at when presented with a chart comparing US Army and Israeli Army divisions, other than to compare some numbers. Heck, the professionals have a hard enough time explaining what the numbers really mean given all the caveats.
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