skippy the bush kangaroo

Monday, March 31, 2003

who's fingerprints on the war plan? can't be mine

liberal oasis has a good run down on rumsfeld's disavowing all knowledge of the current war plan on yesterday's talk shows. apparently all of a sudden it was gen. tommy franks idea (with a little help from his cousin gen. tommy beans).

of course, robert novak may disagree:

while rumsfeld spoke the literal truth, his response was still disingenuous. rumsfeld had been asked about the cakewalk description several times, rejecting it but still defending the premises for such a judgment. while its source was not technically a pentagon official, it was a longtime rumsfeld friend and lieutenant: kenneth adelman, appointed by the secretary to the defense policy board (an outside advisory panel). in demanding military action against saddam hussein, adelman has promised repeatedly there would be no military difficulty.

u.s. general officers i have questioned over the last year were angry that anybody--particularly an official adviser--should spread the impression this would not be a real war, with killing and dying. nevertheless, the cakewalk image took hold among some of the strongest hawks in congress and in the public mind. that has led to widespread surprise and dismay in beholding what rumsfeld accurately told russert: ''a war is a war. it's a brutal thing.''

and, thanks to the war in context, we find that seymour hersh would also disagree:

on at least six occasions, the planner told me, when rumsfeld and his deputies were presented with operational plans -- the iraqi assault was designated plan 1003 -- he insisted that the number of ground troops be sharply reduced. rumsfeld's faith in precision bombing and his insistence on streamlined military operations has had profound consequences for the ability of the armed forces to fight effectively overseas. "they've got no resources," a former high-level intelligence official said. "he was so focussed on proving his point -- that the iraqis were going to fall apart."

posted by skippy at 12:16 PM |

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coiffman the postman
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