WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stretched by frequent troop rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has become a "thin green line" that could snap unless relief comes soon, according to a study for the Pentagon.

Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer who wrote the report under a Pentagon contract, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended.

As evidence, Krepinevich points to the Army's 2005 recruiting slump -- missing its recruiting goal for the first time since 1999 -- and its decision to offer much bigger enlistment bonuses and other incentives.

"You really begin to wonder just how much stress and strain there is on the Army, how much longer it can continue," he said in an interview. He added that the Army is still a highly effective fighting force and is implementing a plan that will expand the number of combat brigades available for rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 136-page report represents a more sobering picture of the Army's condition than military officials offer in public. While not released publicly, a copy of the report was provided in response to an Associated Press inquiry.

This report is a sharp contrast to the sunny picture offered by our Military in recent months, and the propaganda offered up by Right Wing Blogs.

And faced with repeated deployments and lack of support from the government, it is no wonder our "all volunteer army," is not volunteering too much these days.

My belief is that it is time to stop living in fantasy land when it comes to evaluating our military capabilities. The Taliban is growing in strength in Pakistan and on the border with Afghanistan. The Iranians pose a much greater threat than Saddam ever did. The insurgency in Iraq seems to be as strong as ever. Houston... we have a problem....

Our soldiers don't deserve to be constantly redeployed to dangerous areas, while ill equipted at times, and while not getting the level of support they deserve at home.

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