Target Approval Delays Irk Air Force Officers

Washington Post ^ | Sunday, November 18, 2001 | Thomas E. Ricks

[mdittmar]

As many as 10 times over the last six weeks, the Air Force believed it had top Taliban and al Qaeda members in its cross hairs in Afghanistan but was unable to receive clearance to fire in time to hit them, according to senior Air Force officials.

The officials said the problems stemmed from delays due to a cumbersome approval process and intense disagreements with the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the war, over how much weight to give to concerns about avoiding civilian casualties.

[mdittmar]

Article

[Nitro]

Sounds like a disingenuous comparison to Viet Nam!

[LarryLied]

The Post claims an active duty four star general blames Rumsfled for micro-managing the war. The general is quoted as calling the war "military amateur hour" while decrying a lack of trust at the senior leadership level.

Anyone know how many four star generals we have? And why this one still has his job?

[Atchafalaya]

The question also to ask is how many of the Clintonion feel-good generals are in this mix. They got to go.

[stilts]

The core of the clearance problem, as described by several officials, is that the Central Command, which has its headquarters in Tampa, retained authority to clear hitting sensitive targets, rather than delegate it to commanders of the air campaign, who were based at Prince Sultan Air Base, located 70 miles southeast of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

I was surprised to see this. I was under the impression that the Saudis weren't letting us use the Prince Sultan Air Base in fighting the war in Afghanistan. Is it that we can't station planes at the base for use in the war? Is this article wrong that it is being used as a command center? I remember reading that Prince Mohammed had stated that even the command center couldn't be used. Can anyone clear up my confusion? Thanks

[mdittmar]

That's exactly what I thought.

Let's hope it's bull.

"Success demands a high level of logistical and organizational competence."

“Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy.”

General George S. Patton

[TheLion]

So we prolong the conflict, put the pilot at more risk and put our people on the ground at further risk to avoid a few potential civilian casualties? In the end, this behavior could cost us more than the few we might avoid killing in the process. The pilot should be making the decision, not some Clinton administration leftover lackie. Rumsfeld should clean out these leftover, left-wingers from the Pentagon.

[mdittmar]

This blip is the only thing I could find:

The Saudi Arabian Government has ruled out the use of bases on its territory for American-led strikes against Afghanistan's ruling Taleban.

"We do not accept the presence in our country of a single solider at war with Muslims or Arabs," Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan was quoted as saying in a government-run newspaper on Sunday.

The prince dismissed as nonsense reports that Saudi authorities would allow Washington to use its bases to attack Afghanistan.

However, he did say Saudi airspace could still be used as his country's contribution.

The BBC Middle East correspondent says this implies that America planes could fly over Saudi Arabia in their operations.

Our correspondent says the Saudi Government appears to have bowed to the sensitivies of its Muslim population and refused to have any part in the expected western action.

On Friday, President George W Bush said he was "most pleased" with the co-operation the US was getting from countries in the Middle East for its global campaign against terrorism.

That was seen as confirmation that Saudi Arabia had decided to allow US forces to make use of a vital command centre launch at a military base outside Riyadh.

Link

[Nitro]

All the services are top-heavy with brass. It will take years to clear out all the deadwood ticket punchers, the ones who play it safe and rise without merit!

[Nitro]

It sounds like the Robert McNamara fiasco all over again!!

[stilts]

Thanks for the post. While waiting for a reply I did some more research on the web and found an article with the following quote that might clear up the confusion:

Saudi Arabia permits the United States to use advanced command-and-control facilities at the recently completed Prince Sultan air base south of Riyadh. The US is not permitted to conduct offensive air operations from there, however.

Funny how I don't remember this info getting near the coverage that their refusal got.

[mdittmar]

Buried on page 24D of the internet.

Typical.

[LarryLied]

From what I can find, there are around 36 four star generals on active duty. Bush should find the one who spoke against Rumsfeld and drum him out of the service. They probably already know who it is.

[Nitro]

He'll still live like a king on the pension, not to mention a top spot in aerospace!

[B4Ranch]

Could this be going thru the UN like Nam did?

[Taxman]

Yeah, Deja Vu all over again.

Don't think it is UN meddling, but the article proves that there are still too many "REMFs" in the military and not enough Warriors.

Keep in mind that ALL senior military officers came to their rank during the Clinton years wherein Political Correctness and lying to achieve your objective were the pathways to success.

Not to mention the "wussy" factor, as in "If I screw up (or am perceived as having screwed up), I won't get promoted."

Let me hasten to add that there are many fine and honorable officers and men serving in our military, but there might be, there just might be, mind you, more than a tinge of the "Clinton military syndrome" at work here. Those fine and honorable officers must, in the short run, deal with it as best they can. These kinds of leaks are one way of dealing with the situation.

[B4Ranch]

ping

[Native American Female Vet]

BUMP

[F-117A]

The Post claims an active duty four star general blames Rumsfled for micro-managing the war. The general is quoted as calling the war "military amateur hour" while decrying a lack of trust at the senior leadership level.

Doesn't the Post know the Wesley KLArk is retired?