February 08, 2007
John Burns' Revisionist Whitewash Comments Took My Breath Away
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"My guess is that ..the forces that we liberated by invading Iraq were so powerful and so uncontrollable that virtually nothing the United States might have done,...would have effectively prevented this (present) disintegration." (JOHN BURNS)
History of Planning: The Generals were forbade from writing a comprehensive post war plan under threat of being fired. The State Department's 15 Volume post-war plan and analysis was effectively trashed.
Since day one of the Iraq fiasco my mind frequently offers up what I call the "Einstein Exception." All time is relative.
Whether the mission in Iraq was to install a friendly government by force thusly cementing a US presence in hydrocarbon central or to vanquish a threatening regime it makes no difference. What makes a difference is that the amount of time available to plan a successful liberation was in no way constrained.
The speed at which the invasion was executed, which precluded comprehensive post-war planning, was itself the greatest element of incompetence.
I strongly argue that John Burns' argument is revisionist hogwash. It ignores major significant facts in evidence and is therefore, as a cogent argument, null and void.
(reference below to post war planning debate)
RUMSFELD FORBADE PLANS FOR POST WAR IRAQ.
Original news report, Daily Press, Virginia.
Paraphrased, General Scheid said that preparing a Phase 4 Plan as to handling the aftermath of defeating Saddam was not allowed, not even to be discussed on punishment of being "fired."A Phase 4 Plan would have tipped Congress and the public that Iraq would be or could be a very murderous multi-year extended engagement. Rhummy et al apparently considered that they could only tell the voters more palatable news that we would be warmly welcomed and that it would be a short engagement if no one planned for or was even allowed to outline the obvious and known probable downside contingencies.
The message, again paraphrased, was "Shinseki's honest estimate of troop needs and all normal post occupation planning are (to use a good fascist word) verboten. The lie that the Iraq mission will be easy, complete with flowers from the liberated, will be sold to the public and we do not want any negative scenario planning documents to see the light of day."
"The book "Assassin's Gate" tells the same story, i.e. that the State Department could not get a direct charge for preparing a post invasion plan and what was prepared by way of Phase 4 by the Army, de facto, never saw the light of day.
To summarize: the leadership of the United States prevented our entire Military and each and every one of our now dead or disabled troops the benefit of a normal, complete and required invasion plan in order that their hyped story for the public would not be subject to "smoking gun" evidence that they fully knew of the issues embodied in the maelstrom of post invasion Iraq.
Thousands of our troops and tens of thousand Iraqis are now dead in the service of deliberate and malicious lies. I can not remotely imagine the searing anger and bitterness a parent might feel if their child was now dead due to this act of calculated incompetence.
(Hat Tip Shaun Kikoshouse for Burns reference)
"My guess is that ..the forces that we liberated by invading Iraq were so powerful and so uncontrollable that virtually nothing the United States might have done,...would have effectively prevented this (present) disintegration." (JOHN BURNS)
History of Planning: The Generals were forbade from writing a comprehensive post war plan under threat of being fired. The State Department's 15 Volume post-war plan and analysis was effectively trashed.
Since day one of the Iraq fiasco my mind frequently offers up what I call the "Einstein Exception." All time is relative.
Whether the mission in Iraq was to install a friendly government by force thusly cementing a US presence in hydrocarbon central or to vanquish a threatening regime it makes no difference. What makes a difference is that the amount of time available to plan a successful liberation was in no way constrained.
The speed at which the invasion was executed, which precluded comprehensive post-war planning, was itself the greatest element of incompetence.
I strongly argue that John Burns' argument is revisionist hogwash. It ignores major significant facts in evidence and is therefore, as a cogent argument, null and void.
(reference below to post war planning debate)
RUMSFELD FORBADE PLANS FOR POST WAR IRAQ.
Original news report, Daily Press, Virginia.
Paraphrased, General Scheid said that preparing a Phase 4 Plan as to handling the aftermath of defeating Saddam was not allowed, not even to be discussed on punishment of being "fired."A Phase 4 Plan would have tipped Congress and the public that Iraq would be or could be a very murderous multi-year extended engagement. Rhummy et al apparently considered that they could only tell the voters more palatable news that we would be warmly welcomed and that it would be a short engagement if no one planned for or was even allowed to outline the obvious and known probable downside contingencies.
The message, again paraphrased, was "Shinseki's honest estimate of troop needs and all normal post occupation planning are (to use a good fascist word) verboten. The lie that the Iraq mission will be easy, complete with flowers from the liberated, will be sold to the public and we do not want any negative scenario planning documents to see the light of day."
"The book "Assassin's Gate" tells the same story, i.e. that the State Department could not get a direct charge for preparing a post invasion plan and what was prepared by way of Phase 4 by the Army, de facto, never saw the light of day.
To summarize: the leadership of the United States prevented our entire Military and each and every one of our now dead or disabled troops the benefit of a normal, complete and required invasion plan in order that their hyped story for the public would not be subject to "smoking gun" evidence that they fully knew of the issues embodied in the maelstrom of post invasion Iraq.
Thousands of our troops and tens of thousand Iraqis are now dead in the service of deliberate and malicious lies. I can not remotely imagine the searing anger and bitterness a parent might feel if their child was now dead due to this act of calculated incompetence.
(Hat Tip Shaun Kikoshouse for Burns reference)
Labels: criminal incompetence, Iraq/ foreign policy, John Burns
