Preserving the integrity of our military is of utmost importance. Americans need assurances that our fighting force is prepared and ready in adequate numbers to do the work of U.S. policy.

Against that backdrop, two sobering reports, one commissioned by the Pentagon and another by congressional Democrats, provide a reality check on the state of our troops. Both deserve our attention.

The Pentagon study, written by Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer contracted by the Pentagon, reported that the Army had become so stretched by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that it was "a thin green line" capable of snapping; the Army cannot sustain the effort in Iraq long enough to overcome the insurgency. Talk of troop reductions in December, the report noted, was due in part to a realization the Army was overextended.

Another report released last week by congressional Democrats, authored in part by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, echoed the Pentagon study's findings. That assessment noted that the Army is strained to the point of having "highly corrosive and potentially long-term effects on the force."

In response, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rejected both reports, saying they are "either out of date or just misdirected." Rumsfeld did admit that the 1.4 million active U.S. troops needed "rebalancing."

The Army also was nearly 7,000 recruits short of its 60,000 troop goal last year, the largest shortfall in 26 years.

Under those pressures, we might rightfully be forced further down a path of exhausting all diplomatic options, keeping massive military deployments only as a last resort. Certainly, recent studies suggest the U.S. reduce its forces in Iraq sooner than later.

Indeed, these studies bring new context to hawkish rumblings over Iran's nuclear buildup, and points to the glaring need to start aggressively thinking about the future. That should include developing better strategies for sustaining a vital and strong military even in the most trying times.