On This Date in Bush History-11/28:Wrongs Admitted
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Abraham Lincoln
2005: In a seeming acknowledgement of mistakes made in Iraq, the Pentagon issues a directive today stating "stability operations are a core U.S. military mission ... they shall be given priority comparable to combat operations".
The lack of basic post-invasion Iraq planning by Bush's neo-cons quickly became obvious in 2003. This dereliction of this responsibility encouraged the development of sectarian militias and the subsequent insurgency. Such "stability operations" as announced today, using the military to reestablish a society suffering from the chaos of war, were once dismissed as "nation building" by candidate Bush, who was against this, before he started doing it, however poorly.
2006: The administration of born-again Bush allowed interrogation techniques a former Bush administration State Dept insider called "immoral". This is according to one of Condoleezza Rice's closest advisors, Philip Zelikow, who, newspapers announce today, plans to leave the administration. Said Zelikow in an April 2007 lecture: "In World War II ... the threats were very great; the fate of thousands of lives could hang in the balance ... But, as far as I know, neither [the U.S. nor U.K.] government found it necessary to use methods analogous to those our government has more recently chosen".
Read more in the 2008 Calendar: "Poor George's Almanac"
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Comments: 15
I'm sure his boss forced him to do it, since admitting anything like that on the air is against the Socialist mantra.
If things continue going well, Mr. Bush's "mistake", as you put it, may turn into his greatest triumph.
It took Bush 4 years to take the advice of the military, so he will forever be saddled with the incompetent implementation of the Iraq invasion, but in the end it would be wonderful if all those billions spent, those tens of thousands of lives lost, those limbs losts and brains injured turned out to have brought about postivie changes. So far the biggest beneficiary seems to be the US enemies in Iran, so let's hope that this is not the final result.
I know its hard for some to believe that Mr. Bush listens to his own advisers.............but that's exactly what he does. And Mr. Bush does not go over the head of his Secretary of Defense while troops are engaged in the middle of War. Rumsfeld's plan, although too light on manpower, definitely overthrew Saddam with little trouble. Unfortunately, that's when American troops should have been flown in, en masse. Long before any "insurgency" could get going.
With the successes of The Surge, I think you're seeing the terrorist element withering in Iraq. Plus, the citizens of Iraq are tired of all the terrorist violence too.
Rumsfeld is an excellent military attack strategist. He's not a good Police Chief.
The State Department has no jurisdiction as far as the military is concerned.............it simply isn't their job. The Department of Defense has control of the military. Mr. Rumsfeld can't just cede power to the State Dept. to handle the troops - the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 clearly spells out who has jurisdiction over the troops to avoid them being abusively used, especially in foreign interventions.
Only Mr. Rumsfeld or the Joint Chiefs could change military plans, once begun. Mr. Rumsfeld did not stop the State Department "from doing their jobs". They never had jobs to do................at least not with the military.
Nation-building would be OK, if they could do it...........but they're incompetent at it.
There are better folks than the State Dept. to help the Iraqis...........or anyone else in their situation.
Even Rumsfeld's mistakes would be better than what the State Dept. could have done with free reign from April 2003 forward..............if, hypothetically, American laws permitted that - which they don't.