There is equally little prospect of many additional British troops, given the army's current overstretch (see article).
Overstretch is evident: a single official in Delhi has to liaise with 19 Latin American ambassadors, says Mr Tharoor.
Sysco is well organized and careful not to overstretch itself, says Rajan Chaudhry, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston.
But isn't the federalization of pretty much everything in a diverse country like the U.S. just another exercise in imperial overstretch?
This mismatch of need and supply exacerbates the overstretch experiences by many units, which are often turning away mothers in labour, he said.
Overstretch, as the Strategic Defence Review acknowledged, is a vicious circle.
The report said there must be improvement on a situation where the problems of undermanning and overstretch appeared to have got worse since the defence review.
Other topics covered included the operation of the courier industry during the 2012 Olympic Games, the centenary of the 1911 Parliament Act and the "overstretch" of the armed forces.
The levy serves as a caution to lenders to banks that they should take care where they place their funds and avoid banks which overstretch themselves - as Cypriot banks did.
The commission, which includes Falklands veteran Simon Weston, discovered that military overstretch was having a big impact on service families' life, with gaps between tours of duty frequently shorter than they should be.
Earlier, in a speech to the Conservative conference in Blackpool, Mr Fox said everyone wanted to see British troops home from Iraq, but only when the job was done - not because of "overstretch".
BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Tory anger at Brown's Iraq visit
Prime Minister David Cameron made little attempt to disguise his irritation with the warnings - private and public - about overstretch which have emerged from both military and political sources over the past months.
As the previous Labour government found to its cost as UK forces fought on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan, amid front pages about overstretch and an army "running hot", defence can become an explosive political issue.
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