White House Disputes U.S. Lacked Planning on Iraq (Reuters)

[dooner]

Addressing the wrong question, thanks to the Washington Post
-----------------------------------------------------
Reuters New Service
Sunday, June 12, 2005 6:03 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Sunday there was "significant" postwar planning for Iraq and disputed the characterization of a memo produced for British Prime Minister Tony Blair eight months before the invasion that expressed concerns about a long occupation.

The briefing paper concluded that the U.S. military was not preparing adequately for what the memo predicted would be a "protracted and costly" postwar occupation of Iraq, The Washington Post reported in Sunday's editions.

<snip>
The report of the July 21 memo comes after the minutes of the subsequent Downing Street meeting were published by London's Sunday Times on May 1 and became known as the Downing Street memo.

The minutes said Britain's spy chief had concluded after a trip to Washington that "intelligence and facts were being fixed" to make the case for war in Iraq, an assertion that U.S. officials and Blair have denied.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.aspsection=Breaking&storyId=1048026&tw=wn_wire_story

[rogerashton]

1. Well, that's right.

They had been planning to invade Iraq since the 1990's. How can anyone say they didn't have a plan?

[amagusta]

42. Right! Ironclad legal defense in future Hague trials.

They can't be guilty of both planning an invasion and not planning an iinvasion!

[Don Claybrook]

2. The White House is right

There really was some significant post-war planning. The State Department was heading it up. They presented their plans to the administration, and were promptly ignored in favor of the Feith/Wolfowitz/Cheney cabal.

[charlyvi]

7. Right. But you know, these idiots

will probably bring it out, dust it off and portray it as their post war plan. And the media will go along with it, as though everyone will have forgotten.

[Don Claybrook]

27. That's the formula

It's sometimes a real drag to be so jaded and so correct, isn't it?

I see Cheney is in a speaking mood recently. Maybe it's time for him to come out and tell us how unconscionable these assertions are.

[rodeodance]

29. yes, i await the wise words of cheney boy!!

[Don Claybrook]

35. We all do. He's the nation's kindly grandfather type.

Well, except for that little Fuck Off episode. Oh, and the major-league asshole comment. Still, we're all looking forward to his grandfatherly counsel.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

38. Yeah...the kind of grandfather that will eat his grandchildren raw.

[DemGa]

3. Story on Yahoo front page

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050612/ts_nm/iraq_britain_usa_dc

[acmavm]

4. So, everything in these 'memos' either was true or came true the bush**

admin denies that it ever happened. And the 'memos' predate the war. Does anyone beside me feel that this is rather surreal? Not to mention that the government officials in the country that created the 'memos' don't deny their veracity.

Whatever, next you'll be trying to tell me bush** served honorable in the Texas Air National Guard.

[jimshoes]

6. Sure, repub rule #1

when you get caught doing something illegal, lie your ass off.

[charlyvi]

11. And whatever the proof....

DENY....DENY....DENY!

[Supersedeas]

52. and Lie more liberally when the facts completely contradict you

[Journeyman]

5. Yeah! Who ya gonna believe? The White House. . .

or your lying eyes?

[LaurenG]

8. Some days you just want to take someones name in vain

What's the plan then, butlick *, I'm tired of waiting for answers. You work for us. Let us hear all about it. (lying stupid #$%^#@&()

[rodeodance]

18. you bet--

[The Ghost]

9. from the Yahoo article

"More importantly, the memo in question was written eight months before the war began -- there was significant postwar planning in the time that elapsed," (White House spokesman David Almacy) said."

And when again did Bush go to Congress about taking action?

is this not a f***up by the White House?

[halobeam]

48. HOLY **** .... Nice Catch!!

Yes, I believe they made a boo-boo. I WISH.... more people would pick up on this.

Can we kick for the middle of the night and the a.m. DU'ers?

[deadparrot]

10. Hey, coverage is coverage. Vote it up! nt

[tblue37]

33. Remember when LBJ said they should accuse his

opponent of having sex with pigs. When someone said , "But that's not true," LBJ said that didn't matter. He just wanted to see his opponent all over the TV and newspapers denying that he had sex with pigs.


BushCo is being forced to acknowledge the existence of these memos and minutes, and that acknowledgment keeps them in the news. As long as it is "just "foreigners," Dems and real people like us who are talking about the memos and minutes, the media feels safe in ignoring them. But when Lord Bush or his minions speak, the press stenographers copy down their every word. Thus they are forced to refer to the minutes and what is in them, even though they have been trying to bury them for well over a month.

[tmooses]

12. There are those who will believe Bush no matter what he says

but you have to believe even some of the diehards are doubling their dose of kool-ade to bury those nasty nagging doubts about their great leader's honesty.

[XemaSab]

13. Deciding what percent of the contract

goes to Halliburton and what percent goes to Bechtel does not constitute a plan.

[leesa]

14. Do you see how they are twisting the issue away from the illegality of the

war? The Pincus article was part of this deception. The lack of planning is NOT the issue of DSM. Any fool can see there was no plan.

[dooner]

34. yep. n/t

[still_one]

15. then follow up with the following question:

Then how come things are so screwed up you IDIOT! you said two years ago that mission was accomplished, are you a MORAN or WHAT PRESIDENT BUSH!!!?

[creeksneakers2]

16. They didn't want planning

A plan would have recognized problems that the war could create. They didn't want anything like that to leak out. They maintained there would be no problems.

[rodeodance]

17. this is great-the WH felt inclined to respond--we knew it deny deny

deny--but hey--let the battle begin!!!!!!

[rodeodance]

20. "We disagree with the characterization." te he--so simple isn't it!!

from the Reuters story"

"We disagree with the characterization. There was significant postwar planning," David Almacy, a White House spokesman, said.

"More importantly, the memo in question was written eight months before the war began -- there was significant postwar planning in the time that elapsed," he said.

The memo showed that top British officials saw the Bush administration as inevitably deciding to go to war, but said "little thought" had been given to "the aftermath and how to shape it," the Post said.

[5X]

24. If, in the 8 months before the war, there was lots of planning....

for the post war then how can they deny
they intended to go to war all along?

[rodeodance]

30. whow--you are onto something--good thinking 5x

[Robeson]

19. Note to White House: You have no credibility.....

...:thumbsdown:

[rodeodance]

22. about 2 and half stars on yahoo cite.

Average (637 votes)

[indepat]

21. Maybe it's the quality and reality of the postwar planning for Iraq rather

than a lack of planning.

[marmar]

23. Why....

is reality such a foreign concept to this administration?

[rodeodance]

25. they just have their own 'reality'---

[marmar]

26. True...

But it's hard to imagine that they could honestly believe all their own bullshit.

[rodeodance]

28. nominate--we need to keep trake of these responses (simple denials

that they are).

[spinbaby]

31. Here's the plan

Postwar plan:

A) Iraqis throw flowers
B) Oil fields are secured
C) Huge profits for all (provided you're a Bush crony)

[tuvor]

32. "Significant: Having or expressing a meaning; meaningful."

Somehow "significant postwar planning" doesn't instill me with a sense of comfort.

[BattyDem]

36. So what they're saying is ...

they PLANNED on it turning out the way it has?!? :eyes:

[daleo]

37. "Shock and Awe" was the plan

When the world saw the power of the almighty Bush military, everybody would grovel and bow down to him and Cheney. That was essentially all the thought they gave to the matter.

Not only was the invasion a crime, but it was a poorly executed one.

[jazzjunkysue]

39. Wish I had the White house plumbing contract. Lots of flushing going on

about now. There isn't enough pepto-bismal in america for the stomach ruptures that will ensure as the "law-makers" return to their feedbags tomorrow.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

40. So how did they deny this?

By saying, "nuh-uh"?

[Jackpine Radical]

41. If the Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight actually planned this mess,

that's probly more criminal than if it all happened by accident.

It would imply that they knew they were getting us into a quagmire from the beginning, and did it anyway.

It would imply that they knew they were gonna need a lot of years of war to keep them in power.

It would imply that they see benefits in an unwinnable war that override the deaths of thousands of westerners & Iraqis. Benefits like the enrichment of Halliburton and the deliberate looting of the American economy.

And they should have known. Poppy, Schwartzkopf and Colin Powell knew a long time ago, at the end of GW I. That's why they didn't go to Baghdad then.

So these people are not stupid. They knew there would be no rose petals. Instead, they are massively criminal.

[ngGale]

43. Say what?...You mean they...

thought they planned. It would be laughable if we were not losing so many lives.

[seafan]

44. There was no "post-war plan" for Iraq because...

the neocons never intended to leave.

Hence the 14 new military bases and the billion(s) for a huge new embassy.

It's all very simple, really.

[splat@14]

45. If people weren't dying over this sort of mentality, it would be great

politically. Shrub and Admin are out of touch with America and its starting to reflect in the polls and, more importantly, within Congress (so they can hold their seats).

It's a true American tragedy that this bunch can't admit any wrong doing and is incapable of changing policy to reflect evolving situations, both here and especially in Iraq and the Middle East. IMO, More lives will be lost because of this inflexibility.

[mountainvue]

46. Well of course they had planned to have

Halliburton "rebuild" Iraq.

[The_Casual_Observer]

47. What will be their new plan when the insurgents have their way

with the entire puppet government?

[lakeguy]

49. hahahahahahahaha! yeah, if this was their plan i'd hate to

see them without one! IDIOTS!!!

[halobeam]

50. Don't ya get it?

They just ADMITTED THEY HAD SIGNIFICANT PLANS...

read on:

"More importantly, the memo in question was written eight months before the war began -- there was significant postwar planning in the time that elapsed," (White House spokesman David Almacy) said."

And when again did Bush go to Congress about taking action?

Wow.... this was just noticed on a prior post here...

They MESSED UP.

[rainbow4321]

51. DMN columnist: As mistakes pile up, administration shifts blame

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/columnists/cleubsdorf/stories/060905dnedileubsdorf.12b295f85.html

Presidents hate to admit mistakes. This one seems to hate it even more than his predecessors. After all, it's easier to blame one's problems on someone else – especially an inviting political target. But history will render the ultimate verdict.

<snip>

Whether deliberate or accidental, treatment of prisoners clearly has sometimes lacked the respect Americans traditionally expect, regardless of the nature of the crime.

Yet no administration official has paid a price for prisoner abuse, including at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Ditto for the intelligence failures leading up to the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the mistakes in planning and implementing the postwar U.S. occupation in Iraq.

<snip>

Though Iraq is no Watergate, Mr. Bush, too, will ultimately receive the credit or the blame for the things that happen on his watch.