www.nationalview.org and Note From a Madman brought to you by
for your Information Technology needs
owned and operated by Noah "The Madman" Greenberg
This Is What Democracy Looks Like
www.NationalView.org's Note From a Madman
June 30, 2008
Iraq Today - Blame the Commanders?
Teeth marks on my computer. I bit the thing because that's what happens when I
read something so frustrating and so self-serving as this Associated Press
headline:
"Army blames poor planning for post-Saddam Iraq chaos"
-The Associated Press
After five-plus years on the ground in Iraq and at least an additional four
years in its planning (some of you will remember PNAC - the NeoCon Project for a
New American Century), the US Defense Department has finally come to the
realization that they weren't quite ready for the aftermath of what would happen
after a quick defeat of a much inferior (as far as manpower, training, tactics
and weaponry are concerned) enemy.
Although warned by such military experts as their own first ambassador to Iraq,
General Jay Garner; and even though they were foretold by the former Commander
of CENTCOM (Central Command), General Anthony Zinni in his Iraqi plan of attack
(one created during his tenure under President Bill Clinton should the need
arise), the Bush administration Department of Defense, led by loyal Bushie
Donald Rumsfeld himself, apparently didn't know the obvious, then, as reported
by the AP above, now.
In an effort to express blame, and shift it away from where it really belongs
(see above), the Contemporary Operations Study Team at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
reported this:
"'In the euphoria of early 2003,'" U.S.-based commanders prematurely believed
their goals in Iraq had been reached and did not send enough troops to handle
the occupation,"
-The Associated Press, quoting and summing up the report
It took 700 pages to tell the story of Bush's unprepared occupation.
However, that's not the whole truth. In his book, Plan of Attack, which used
interviews with various members of the Bush administration, Bob Woodward
reported that it was President Bush himself who refused to allow the correct
number of troops into Iraq in the first place. And to make matters worse, as the
pre-"Mission Accomplished" part of the war was coming to a close, the necessary
troops - the entire Fourth Army - was sitting on a ship awaiting orders which
never came. Instead, after weeks at sea, and while Iraq was turning into the
Dodge City of the Middle East, they were used as replacements for the soldiers
whose turn it was to go home.
Although the report, somehow, places the blame on "the Commanders" in Iraq, it
also states the truth: They were ignored.
"In line with the prewar planning and general euphoria at the rapid crumbling of
the Saddam regime, Franks continued to plan for a very limited role for U.S.
ground forces in Iraq,"
-the Report
But the truth is that Franks did come to Secretary Rumsfeld a number of times
with plans that required as many as a half-million troops. The problem was that,
in their zeal for war, the Bushies couldn't stand to wait for such a force to be
mobilized. "Rummy" decided that he could not go to President Bush with a real
war plan and instead chose to tell Franks to make it smaller and faster. And
Franks did. Time and time again, Franks came back to his immediate superior
(Rumsfeld) with a modified plan for less and less troops.
And it was exactly what The President ordered.
"Planners who requested more troops were ignored and that commanders in Baghdad
were replaced without enough of a transition and lacked enough staff,"
-The Associated Press, again from the Report
When the war - or should I say, the pre-"Mission Accomplished" part of the war,
ended - it was General David McKiernan who was the man in charge in Iraq. Franks
led the war effort from Kuwait, but McKiernan was the ranking officer in Iraq
itself. He was the man in charge on the ground during the battles with the Iraqi
army.
At the time of "Mission Accomplished", McKiernan was getting ready to take over
as a military governor in Baghdad. He was getting his troops ready for the long
haul which he, as a military leader, knew was going to be necessary to make Iraq
tolerable for its citizens and his soldiers.
As his reward, and much to his and all who knew what the situation on the ground
really was surprise, McKiernan was relieved of his duties in Iraq and a new
commander, the same commander who spent the war on the boat, General Ricardo
Sanchez took his place.
Some will also remember former Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki who has
the temerity to say this about the occupation of Iraq after "Mission
Accomplished":
It will take "something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers,"
-Shinseki
He was soon gone from the Bush administration as well.
In all of the Associate Press article, there is not one mention of Donald
Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney or George W. Bush. In true Bushco format, somehow, they
are left blameless and those under them will take the brunt of the criticism.
After all "Stuff" runs downhill, doesn't it?
-Noah Greenberg
Send your comments to: NationalView@aol.com
-Noah Greenberg