Gen. (Tommy Franks) saw chaos coming (New Book)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/217656p-187192c.html

The U.S. General who routed Saddam Hussein's army in three weeks warned before the invasion that a quick victory could lead to a "catastrophic success" because they were not prepared for postwar anarchy in Iraq.

"We will have to stand up a new Iraqi army, and create a constabulary that includes a representative tribal, religious, and ethnic mix," retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks writes in a new autobiography recounting the tense days before the war. "It will take time."

<snip>

Bush's political strategists were anxious for Franks' book to be released before the presidential election, believing it would portray the President as a decisive leader.

To some extent it does. Franks writes that Bush has "the natural leader's ability to put his subordinates at ease" and describes how he gave the final order on March 19, 2003, to invade Iraq.

But it is Franks' struggles to run the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with Rumsfeld breathing down his back that drives the narrative. At one point, Franks even threatened to quit.

<snip>

....Douglas Feith, whom he derides as the "dumbest ... guy on the planet."

[Justice]

1. Franks Article In Parade Magazine Tomorrow

Should be interesting.

[Democat]

6. Parade is right wing propaganda

Don't expect them to say anything negative about Bush.

[Ernesto]

11. Toilet paper........

[Democat]

16. Bill O'Reilly is a contributing editor of Parade

That says a lot.

[patdem]

2. Okay, so everybody who wants to BBQ with bush* says he is smart to

surround himself with the smart people, only they turn our to be worse than bush*..so why will they vote for bush* again??? :shrug:

[Jack Rabbit]

14. The group dynamic is also important

FDR was no mental heavyweight, either; the comparison stops there.

FDR was not proud of being a mental lightweight; Bush has open contempt for anybody who reads a book more complicated that The Pet Goat.

FDR surrounded himself with a brain trust and listened to their advice. Bush's brain trust is intimidated into groupthink, tells him only what they think he wants to hear and as result serves him poorly. The most egregious example is when Tenet told Bush the case against Saddam was a "slam dunk" following an intelligence presentation that clearly showed that it was not.

[Emillereid]

3. God, I hate the way these guys deconstruct a war like it was

some kind of board game or something, instead of what it really is -- men gone mad, taking the lives and livelihoods of others so cavalierly. I wonder when the final nuclear Holocaust is over whether the remnants of humanity that remain will so coolly analyze the post war game?

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. Funny how Franks was pretty cocksure about "victory" in the lead up

and aftermath. That big bulbous brown noser bastard ought to fry in hell for war crimes along with the rest of the bush lackeys.

[Rose Siding]

5. NYT: "we had neither the money nor a...set of policy decisions"

snip>
He dismisses Ahmad Chalabi, and by extension the intelligence and advice that he and his Iraqi National Congress provided to Washington policy makers, saying Mr. Chalabi was "badly out of touch with what it would take" to stabilize Iraq.

He also writes that before the war, Jay Garner, the retired general appointed as the first, short-term director of reconstruction and assistance efforts in Iraq, "had spent weeks walking the corridors of Washington, hat in hand."

"He needed people and money," General Franks writes.

Within his own command, General Franks writes, "we had neither the money nor a comprehensive set of policy decisions that would provide for every aspect of reconstruction, civic action, and governance."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/international/01FRAN.html

[BillZBubb]

7. we had neither the money nor a comprehensive set of policy decisions"

ie MISERABLE FAILURE!

If Franks was honest, and he's not, he'd put the blame for this fiasco squarely where it lies (two meanings here): BUSH*.

[FormerOstrich]

17. Money???

:wtf:

Staggering amounts of money have been incumbered for Iraq. How much money is enough??? How many times did * say if the Generals needed anything he would provide.

They need to account for the money! Congress just gave * his blank checks! I want to know where all that money AND the Iraqi money has gone....not enough money my foot!!

[tabasco]

8. LMAO. Franks uses Bush and natural leader in same sentence

The guy's even stupider (or more corrupt) than I thought. GW Bush is anything but a natural leader. Franks is on the gravy train on the board with war profiteering corporations. Nice the way he led his troops into the real dangerous phase of the war and then bailed. Fuck him.

[KittyWampus]

9. Iraqi Experts Recommeded KEEPING POLICE & ARMY INTACT

and only putting highest ranking officers on trial.

Bush/Chalabi's group rejected the experts advice.

[rfkrocks]

10. catastrophic success?-in the old days it was just called a failure

So basically there was no planning for the new government and Bush always sided with Rummy on war over Powell-when does a President take responsibility for failure and for his decisions-not in this administration-Bush made the call on war-But he doesn't make mistakes-he is a deity

[Judi Lynn]

12. It IS good, however, to see Feith get slammed. He's got it comin',

BIG TIME.

What untold suffering Feith and his fellow pieces of crap have foisted off on the rest of the world.

[0007]

13. Maybe Tommy boy can add a few chapters while he's at the Hauge

[serryjw]

15. Tommy Frank on Nightline Monday Evening!

Should be an interesting show.