A fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war

the "true confessions" are coming thick and fast...

Why Iraq Was a Mistake

A military insider sounds off against the war and the "zealots" who pushed it

By Lt. General GREGORY NEWBOLD, Retired director of operations at the Pentagon's military joint staff

• I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat--al-Qaeda. [...] Until now, I have resisted speaking out in public. I've been silent long enough.

• I am driven to action now by the missteps and misjudgments of the White House and the Pentagon, and by my many painful visits to our military hospitals.

• Enlisted members of the armed forces swear their oath to those appointed over them; an officer swears an oath not to a person but to the Constitution. The distinction is important.

• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent statement that "we" made the "right strategic decisions" but made thousands of "tactical errors" is an outrage. It reflects an effort to obscure gross errors in strategy by shifting the blame for failure to those who have been resolute in fighting.

• My sincere view is that the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions--or bury the results.

• The consequence of the military's quiescence was that a fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war, while pursuing the real enemy, al-Qaeda, became a secondary effort.

• So what is to be done? We need fresh ideas and fresh faces. That means, as a first step, replacing Rumsfeld and many others unwilling to fundamentally change their approach.

i have mixed feelings, the same mixed feelings i've expressed here before... just like larry wilkerson and all the rest, why the hell didn't newbold speak up when the shit was hitting the fan...? it's all well and good to bare your soul NOW when bush and his criminal compadres are circling the drain but, goddam it, where was your voice during the iraq war run-up...? sigh... better late than never, i suppose...

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