NYT OpEd: A General Misunderstanding (in defense of Rummy)

[sabra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/opinion/16delong.html?ex=1145332800&en=6c49851df9de406d&ei=5087%0A

A General Misunderstanding
By MICHAEL DeLONG
Published: April 16, 2006
Tampa, Fla.

AS the No. 2 general at United States Central Command from the Sept. 11 attacks through the Iraq war, I was the daily "answer man" to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. I briefed him twice a day; few people had as much interaction with him as I did during those two years. In light of the recent calls for his resignation by several retired generals, I would like to set the record straight on what he was really like to work with.

When I was at Centcom, the people who needed to have access to Secretary Rumsfeld got it, and he carefully listened to our arguments. That is not to say that he is not tough in terms of his convictions (he is) or that he will make it easy on you (he will not). If you approach him unprepared, or if you don't have the full courage of your convictions, he will not give you the time of day.

Mr. Rumsfeld does not give in easily in disagreements, either, and he will always force you to argue your point thoroughly. This can be tough for some people to deal with. I witnessed many heated but professional conversations between my immediate commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, and Mr. Rumsfeld — but the secretary always deferred to the general on war-fighting issues.

...

The outcome and ramifications of a war, however, are impossible to predict. Saddam Hussein had twice opened his jails, flooding the streets with criminals. The Iraqi police walked out of their uniforms in the face of the invasion, compounding domestic chaos. We did not expect these developments.


Michael DeLong, a retired Marine lieutenant general, is the author, with Noah Lukeman, of "Inside Centcom: The Unvarnished Truth About the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq."

[joemurphy]

1. Why didn't you expect them?

You didn't anticipate an insurgency, looting, sectarian violence, or civil unrest. You didn't anticipate a lack of Iraqi leadership, armed militias, or severed oil pipelines, underdeveloped power grids, or the kidnapping of journalists. You didn't anticipate the plunder of the art museums or the archaeological sites. You didn't anticipate needing 250,000 to 500,000 men to pacify Iraq either. You didn't anticipate a lack of body armor or no-bid reconstruction contracts. You didn't anticipate our "Coalition of the Willing" falling apart. You didn't anticipate the bombing of mosques or the decapitation of engineers. You didn't anticipate much of anything.

Rumsfeld couldn't have anticipated any of these things. Ergo, we should keep him on as Secretary of Defense.

[grytpype]

2. Must Must Must Read!!!! K&R!!!!!

Unbelievable stuff in this article. This is as close to an total admission as I've ever seen... must read!!!!

Delong says there was no way we could win the war by invading from Kuwait only!
"logistically it would have been well nigh impossible to bring many more soldiers through the bottleneck in Kuwait."

Delong says we could not maintain 300-500,000 troops in Iraq!
"you cannot sustain a fighting force of 300,000 or 500,000 men for long, and it would have left us with few reserves, putting our troops at risk in other parts of the world."

Delong says they did not predict (much less plan for) the breakdown in social organization!
"The outcome and ramifications of a war, however, are impossible to predict. Saddam Hussein had twice opened his jails, flooding the streets with criminals. The Iraqi police walked out of their uniforms in the face of the invasion, compounding domestic chaos. We did not expect these developments."

Delong says they relied too much on allies!
"We relied too much on the supposed expertise of the Iraqi exiles like Ahmad Chalabi who assured us that once Saddam Hussein was gone, Sunni Arabs, Shiites and Kurds would unite in harmony."

This is the weird part -- apparently there was some planning for Phase IV!
"But that doesn't mean that a "What's next?" plan didn't exist. It did; it was known as Phase IV of the overall operation. General Franks drafted it and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the State Department, the Pentagon, the Treasury Department and all members of the Cabinet had input. It was thoroughly "war-gamed" by the Joint Chiefs."

[sabra]

3. thank you for all these breakdowns - I missed a few of them

[Blue_Tires]

4. ttt n/t