Warnings ignored, says retired Marine

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040416-9999-7m16zinni.html

Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni wondered aloud yesterday how Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld could be caught off guard by the chaos in Iraq that has killed nearly 100 Americans in recent weeks and led to his announcement that 20,000 U.S. troops would be staying there instead of returning home as planned.

"I'm surprised that he is surprised because there was a lot of us who were telling him that it was going to be thus," said Zinni, a Marine for 39 years and the former commander of the U.S. Central Command. "Anyone could know the problems they were going to see. How could they not?"

At a Pentagon news briefing yesterday, Rumsfeld said he could not have estimated how many troops would be killed in the past week. snip

For years Zinni said he cautioned U.S. officials that an Iraq without Saddam Hussein would likely be more dangerous to U.S. interests than one with him because of the ethnic and religious clashes that would be unleashed.

more

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Which brings up a good point.

Why did we go against conventional wisdom? Why have we done everything in Iraq that our predecessors have counseled against?

I think we'll find the answer by asking two more, "Why Rumsfeld and why now?"

Answer: Rumsfeld was telling the neo-cons and the war profiteers everything they wanted to hear. Iraq was a winnable war. And if it was winnable, U.S. corporations could benefit from it through the privatized contracts from the military. The U.S. soldier could be used to reign in the chaos while, hired help at $120,000 a pop, could accomplish the non-military goals, such as laying down pipeline.

The problem: It isn't working. Chaos isn't as profitable in a war zone, as the free marketers anticipated.

[Florida_Geek]

4. Never forget PROFIT on those $1,000 per day people

When people hear that the merics in Iraq are making $500 to $1000 per day, that is what the person makes, not what Blackwater and others BILL. You can damn will double that for "overhead" and profit.

So for each $1,000 per day soldier of fortune it is costing the US Tax payer $700,000 per year.

[dand]

2. Kerry needs to recruit Anthony Zinni,

he has been pointing out this administration's incompetency with courage and no holds barred, more than our gutless politicians are doing.

[IndianaGreen]

15. Zinni is not PPI

Zinni wants the troops out.

Kerry prefers the likes of neolib imperialists like Joe Biden, Brand Beers, and the rest of the PPI gang.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

18. Rand Beers, Colombian crop fumigator. And ex?-conservative.

Richard Morningstar, Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline supporter. (Oil Co. whore)

William Perry, Rumsfeld-like reorganizer of the military via Halliburton-like companies(pro privatization of the MIC).

Joe "Bombs Away" Biden.

Gotta love PPI. :loveya:

[the Kelly Gang]

3. Gen Zinni and me both said the same..but a fuckwit like Rumsfield

couldn't see what was coming..may he rot in hell with the others.

[Judi Lynn]

5. It'd be great hearing a lot more from people like Zinni

Nothing works as well as actual experience.



I didn't know he'd met Arafat.

[CRK7376]

10. Zinni has tons

of Middle East experience and was/is a great Marine(I'm Army so he has to be good to get praise from a grunt). Pity nobody bothered to listen to him from the Shrub administration. THey probably heard what he had to say but disregarded him....

[dbt]

6. Rummy, like the rest of the Regime, sees War as a means to profit.

You wouldn't make a tenth of the apparent mistakes that this bunch has made, unless you were trying to fight a war on the cheap. Why would you send troops into harm's way without enough ammunition, without enough armor on Humvees and/or without adequate body armor unless you were trying to hold costs down?

In their Relentless Pursuit Of Profits, the BFEE ignores a cardinal principle: the only wage to wage war is to wage Total War. Every time you try to put limits on it, you screw your troops. It's very simple. You either fight to win or you don't fight at all.

You'd think the "adults" would've learned this in Viet Nam. Oh, wait, I forgot...

:freak:
dbt

[Corgigal]

7. Warnings ignored

This should be the Bush Administrations new mantra. It works on so many levels.

[xchrom]

8. another rumsfeld fuck-up

that millions and millions of people don't show up at this admins front door with pink slips is the really surprising thing.

[Ilsa]

9. Zinni said heads should roll for this screw-up.

Snip

"I've been called a traitor and a turncoat for mentioning these things," said Zinni, 60. The problems in Iraq are being caused, he said, by poor planning and shortsightedness, such as disbanding the Iraqi army and being unable to provide security."

Snip

[RamblingRose]

11. Can someone please provide a list as to the Generals, politicians, etc.

that said the number of troops in Iraq were insufficient from the start of the war. Surprised my ass!

[underpants]

12. Seriously has ANY anti-war claim not come true?

I don't mean this to boast but geesh every single argument against the war has happened. Every stinking single one. I am shocked myself by this and some have popped up that either I didn't hear or didn't remember-strectching the military to the breaking point (but then "homeland security first" might include this).

I guess this decision by BushInc. was really THAT bad.

Sad very very sad.

[teryang]

13. Contrast Zinni with Biden

Biden says of the neo-cons in the Pentagon, "these are brilliant men," "their goals in Iraq are compelling," "we cannot fail," and "we need tens of thousands more troops in Iraq," and "it's not like Vietnam."

Zinni says, "I spent two years in Vietnam, and I've seen this movie before," he said. "They have to be willing to do more or else it is never going to work."

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

14. couldn't agree more

When is Biden getting his spine xplant? I've have it with his
non-partisan bullshit.

[Snellius]

16. This quote hits the nail on the head:

"I've been called a traitor and a turncoat for mentioning these things," said Zinni, 60. The problems in Iraq are being caused, he said, by poor planning and shortsightedness, such as disbanding the Iraqi army and being unable to provide security.

Zinni said the United States must now rely on the U.N. to pull its "chestnuts out of the fire in Iraq."

"We're betting on the U.N., who we blew off and ridiculed during the run-up to the war," Zinni said. "Now we're back with hat in hand. It would be funny if not for the lives lost."

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040416-9999-7m16zinni.html

[peterh]

17. A pretty good opinion piece in the L.A. Times….

Gives support to Zinni’s warning in another light….

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-arkin18apr18,1,617793.story?coll=la-sunday-commentary

Throughout Iraq, and not just in the Sunni Triangle, people took pride in Hussein's grand design. Iraq's healthcare systems, schools and socialist infrastructure were unique in the Arab world. Then as now, Iraqis were united in their pride: Their country was the one Arab nation that really stood up to the United States.

If some Iraqis have rallied around Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, it is because he is not George W. Bush, not L. Paul Bremer III, not some American lackey on the Governing Council. And the U.S. needs to understand this if it is to find a way out of the current dilemma.


And then we have Bill Maher….in typical Maher fashion….

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-oe-maher18apr18,1,1478944.story?coll=la-sunday-commentary

New Iraq Exit Strategy: Let's Bring Back Hussein

And honestly, he's tanned, rested and ready. He's had time to think, time to recharge his batteries. And speaking of charged batteries, no torture this time! We want Hussein the efficient administrator, not the brutal dictator.



With Hussein in prison, we’ve lost over 600 Americans, prior, it hovered around zero….is Iraq more dangerous without Hussein? It appears and now even the Iraqis themselves might agree….