Words of Mass Confusion

I've been reading "Known Unknown," by Donald Rumsfeld. The left and the right often use the same WMC. Case in point, in Rumsfeld's book he talks about how the Dems let the US Navy fall to 315 ships. What the Navy really needs (he says) is 600 ships. I've heard this argument before. But when either side uses these figures, they never say why. I've never seen an analysis that shows what types of ships we are short on, where these ships will be deployed, and for what reason. Maybe this is an indictment of the American educational system.