The abductions spurred questions inside the U.S. command on security procedures for soldiers on patrol.
  Why, commanders are asking, was a small group of junior enlisted soldiers in Humvees left alone to man a checkpoint near Yusufiyah in a particularly dangerous area of Iraq dubbed the Triangle of Death? The area in the Anbar province is a hotbed of Sunni Muslim insurgents and foreign terrorists who constantly attack U.S. forces.
  "My first question is: Where were the noncommissioned officers?" said a retired Army general who has spoken to active-duty officers about the incident. "Why were only privates protecting a checkpoint? The assumption you have to make is they were part of a platoon that was broken up to watch numerous checkpoints. This again goes back to the same thing: We don't have enough troops."
  Soldiers and Marines in Iraq typically travel in large enough numbers to repel an attack by setting up a defensive perimeter and calling in a quick-reaction force of armored vehicles and combat aircraft as backup.

Once more it appears that events in Iraq indicate deficiencies in U.S. troop strength for the task thrust upon the U.S. military by the Cheney/Bush/Rumsfeld/Rice/neocon warmonger cabal.

Allen supporters: See Jim Webb's pre-invasion analysis for additional details. You'll also find the comments of numerous former high-ranking U.S. military officers of interest. Note in particular those former generals and admirals who have endorsed Jim Webb's candidacy.