So Dubya announces he wants to increase the overall size of the military, and leading Democrats applaud.

Before you get too ticked, do note that leading Democrats have been calling for an increase since 2003.

They have been critical of former Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld's strategy for a military more reliant on technology than troop size.

They rightly predicted Bush's foreign policy would stretch the military too thin.

So they are merely being consistent in supporting a shift away from Rummy's attempt at "transformation."

But there's a deeper issue than the size of the military -- what our government should have the military do.

If a smaller military inherently meant less unnecessary war, then Rummy would be a leading candidate for Dennis Kucinich's Department of Peace.

Bush's foreign policy goals were awful with a smaller military. They will be awful with a larger military.

Back in 2003, when Time Magazine explored this debate, that very point was raised:

Some critics say the argument over enlarging the military misses the point: the country needs not a bigger Army but a different foreign policy.

"This nation cannot deal effectively with the combination of terrorism, rogue states and weapons of mass destruction in all places and every time through the unilateral use of U.S. military force," says Lawrence Korb, a senior Reagan-era Pentagon official who is now with the Council on Foreign Relations.

Working more cooperatively with other nations, he says, would ease the strain on the U.S. military while marshaling international support for the actions ultimately taken.

Korb is now with the Center for American Progress, pushing for strategic redeployment out of Iraq.

Democrats need to learn how, when Bush makes news, to broaden the debates beyond finer tactical points to deeper strategic goals.

It's fine for them to be consistent about troop size and relieving the current stress on our military, but there's no excuse for letting Bush argue we need more troops for an "ideological war."

That's a perfect opening to argue it's not the military's job to win hearts and minds.

That's a job for politics, diplomacy and economics. Not a bigger military.