‘Delusional’ Iraq plans envisaged only 5,000 troops by now
Some of the planning by Gen. Tommy Franks and
other top military officials before the 2003 invasion of Iraq envisioned that as
few as 5,000 U.S. troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006.
“We learn from failure - not from success”
Some of the planning by Gen. Tommy Franks and other top military officials before the 2003 invasion of Iraq envisioned that as few as 5,000 U.S. troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006.
Slides obtained by the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act contain a PowerPoint presentation of what planners projected to be a stable, pro-American and democratic Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
“Completely unrealistic assumptions about a post-Saddam Iraq permeate these war plans,” said National Security Archive Executive Director Thomas Blanton.
First, they assumed that a provisional government would be in place by ‘D-Day’, then that the Iraqis would stay in their garrisons and be reliable partners and, finally, that the post-hostilities phase would be a matter of mere ‘months’. All of these were delusions.”
You have to wonder if these guys ever studied the history of, say, the Crusades — or maybe 20th Century anti-colonial wars? They didn’t believe the hype aimed at Congress and the electorate — did they? Did they?
Posted: Fri - February 16, 2007 at 06:58 AM