Posted on 03/09/2008 10:26:09 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Claim: Iraq invasion was botched
From correspondents in Washington
March 10, 2008 02:30am Article from: Agence France-Presse
A former Pentagon official who played a key role in planning the US-led war in Iraq has written a new book accusing former top diplomat Colin Powell, the CIA and other colleagues of botching the invasion and occupation of Iraq, The Washington Post reported today.
Douglas Feith, who served as under secretary of defence for policy until 2005, alleges Mr Powell as secretary of state "downplayed" the degree and urgency of Iraq's threat but was never willing to openly oppose the invasion, the Post wrote.
Feith castigates Mr Powell for failing to secure support from France and Germany for the war and to win Turkey's approval for US military movements on its territory, saying it amounted to a lack of effort and commitment, according to a copy of the manuscript obtained by the newspaper.
The book, titled War and Decision, is still being edited and is scheduled for release next month by HarperCollins, it said.
Feith writes Mr Powell could have taken a stand and argued with President George W. Bush against overthrowing Saddam Hussein, and either persuaded the President or if not, resigned.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
FRance and Germany made too much money off oil for food to be convinced to go along. Hardly Colin Powell’s fault.
The position of the Left remains that we botched the whole thing anyway?
So was D-Day. We won anyway. That’s how war goes.
Convincing the president not to invade? Umm, right, the families of those killed by murder-bombers in the Middle East who's families were paid off by Saddam (those nifty $25k checks he handed out), plus the rest? No, sorry, Iraq had every chance to avoid the war, to comply with the demands they agreed to at the end of Desert Storm after they invaded a neighbor. They didn't.
But the criticisms of the diplomats? Without having read his book, they are likely completely valid.
Bingo.. “This war is lost..” remember?
Feith was one of the NeoCons, he had an office at the pentagon and was thoroughly disliked by the pentagon and JCS and apparently Powel.
Feith is also attempting to shift the perceived blame away from NeoConservatives for the 04-early 07 period in Iraq.
You’re kidding right? The invasion was more one-sided than Agincourt. If there were mistakes, they involved the occupation not the invasion.
And you’re not sick of how the “occupation” was handled for 4 years?
I agree and I would not be suprised to learn that Colin Powell was in way over his head at any meeting.
He looks the part though.
Who was left in charge to surrender? The whole regime shattered into a million pieces.
Since when does The Dept. of State have veto power over war?
Post 9/11 things looked different. Powell was skeptical of the evidence, but was obviously convinced at the time of his UN presentation.
Powell could probably be more accurately accused of being a primary instigator behind stopping the first Gulf War too soon, (perhaps having been horrified by the hwy of death photos). Swartzkoff made that very clear, in every way that he could.
Three weeks to overrun and topple a country the size of Iraq isn’t good enough for him?
Perhaps he could point to an invasion ever in the history of warfare that has gone better...? Really... even one.
FRance and Germany made too much money off oil for food to be convinced to go along. Hardly Colin Powell’s fault.
War is a series of catastrophes that result in a victory.
Regional governors, the mayor of Baghdad, one of the army commanders - heck, even their UN ambassador. The lack of a surrender, even if it was just a dog and pony show, let a heck of a lot of terrorists and their sympathizers claim that the war was still on.
Just the three and a half years starting a month after we occupied Baghdad till Rumsfeld resigned. The surge should have been done at least two years earlier.
Bush inherited this war from the Clinton Administration who had shifted the Saddam policy from containment to regime change in Clinton's second term. Incidents like the 1993 World Trade Center, Khobar Towers, The USS Cole, African embassy bombings and the growing danger from Saddam in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan were ignored and left for Bush to clean up. Instead, Clinton cronies like Marc Rich and others enriched themselves from the corrupt UN oil-for-food program. As with Vietnam, the negative media spin is so pervasive the average person begins to lose hope in anything.
Some guy was on C-SPAN 2 yesterday saying that what was known in 2002, should have caused us to invade Iran, not Iraq. Referred to information about IRAN in the 9-11 report.
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