Posted on 03/09/2008 9:09:15 PM PDT by nuconvert
Pentagon insider attacks war plan
A former Pentagon official has written a book attacking Colin Powell, the CIA and other US officials over the US-led Iraq war, the Washington Post reports. As under secretary of defence until 2005 Douglas Feith was closely involved with the planning of the invasion.
However, in "War and Decision", he blames officials outside the Pentagon for seriously mismanaging the invasion and occupation, the Post reports.
Out next month, it is the first insider account of Pentagon decision-making.
The newspaper says that Mr Feith accuses intelligence officials and the US state department, led at the time by Mr Powell, of repeatedly scuppering defence department plans for the invasion.
According to the Post, Mr Feith claims that US President George W Bush told a National Security Council meeting "war is inevitable" weeks before a team of UN weapons inspectors, headed by Hans Blix, had made their final report on Saddam Hussein's weapons capabilities.
'More harm than good'
Mr Feith reportedly singles Mr Powell out for criticism, saying that though he allowed himself to be portrayed as a dove, he never spoke out against the war.
He also criticises Condoleezza Rice, who took over from Mr Powell as secretary of state, for having failed in her then role as national security adviser, saying that she did not unite the US's war planning, the Post says.
And, according to the paper, he castigates Paul Bremer, the US official in charge of the subsequent US occupancy as having done more harm in Iraq than good and says military chief Gen Tommy Franks had no interest in post-war planning.
In stark contrast, Mr Feith is reportedly full of praise for former defence secretary Donald H Rumsfeld - one of the chief architects of the war.
Mr Feith was investigated by the Pentagon's inspector general last year for his department's pre-war assessments which linked Saddam Hussein's regime to the al-Qaeda terror group.
The assessments were judged "inappropriate" but not illegal.
He didn’t attack the war plan, he attacked the state department for undermining the plan.
Further, this entire story is based on a leaked transcript of a book that is currently being written. Yes, you got that right — someone STOLE the working papers of an author, and the Washington Post has read those stolen papers and published an article revealing what is in those papers, under the argument that as a former public official his views are “news”.
He attacked the State Dept and the anti-Ameria wing of the CIA (which is 90% of the CIA), therefore he must be destroyed.
Feith is correct about Powell .. that’s why Armitage (Powell’s undersecretary) and Powell were so willing to participate in the Pflame affair .. and keep silent while a member of Cheney’s staff became the goat! Fitzpatrick knew from the beginning it was Armitage who had leaked the name; but it wasn’t illegal because she was not covert.
But .. the whole scheme was payback for not buying the Powell doctrine.
I was never happy about the choice of Powell .. and it did come back to bite the admin.
“The Washington Post reports” says it all.
If he praises Rumsfeld, he’s barking up the wrong tree. Things started to turn around in Iraq once Rummy left.
True...to a point. Rummy was handcuffed by a rabid liberal media eager to pounce on an iota of mistake unlike today where the war is almost non-existent unless an explosion in Baghdad makes the NYT, WAPO drool like a bunch of child molesters at a public playground.
If this is the case then the fault lies with Rumsfeld. You don't venture into the jungle without a weapon and the willingness to use it.
“Mr Feith was investigated by the Pentagon’s inspector general last year for his department’s pre-war assessments which linked Saddam Hussein’s regime to the al-Qaeda terror group.
The assessments were judged “inappropriate” but not illegal.”
And it’s a damned shame Feith’s actions weren’t judged illegal.
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