-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: April 11, 2007 9:54:30 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: General Who PROPOSED the 'Surge' Says "They Have No Idea
What They're Doing"
See what's free at AOL.com.
From: "Jim S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: April 11, 2007 9:41:57 PM PDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: 'Surge' Architect Rejects 'War Czar' Job
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/041107.html
*'Surge' Architect Rejects 'War Czar' Job*
By Robert Parry
April 11, 2007
The widespread doubts within U.S. military and intelligence circles
that George W. Bush's Iraq War "surge" can succeed were underscored
when one of the plan's architects, retired Army Gen. Jack Keane,
was one of three generals to rebuff a White House offer of a new
job dubbed "war czar."
In December, Keane and neoconservative scholar Frederick Kagan
promoted the idea of a U.S. military escalation in Iraq as an
alternative to the growing consensus in favor of a phased
withdrawal of American combat forces.
At the time, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group was advocating a troop
drawdown combined with a stronger commitment to training Iraqi
forces and renewed talks with Iraq's neighbors. But Bush bristled
at the implied criticism of his work as "war president," declaring:
"This business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it
whatsoever."
Bush countered the momentum behind the Iraq Study Group's
recommendations by latching onto the Keane-Kagan "surge" idea. When
the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the two commanders then overseeing
the Iraq War, Generals John Abizaid and George Casey, resisted the
"surge," Bush ousted Abizaid and Casey and overruled the Pentagon
brass.
In January, Bush unveiled the "surge," which not only would send
about 20,000 more U.S. combat troops into Iraq but called for
stationing some of them in Iraqi police outposts throughout
Baghdad. War critics accused the President of throwing away more
American lives out of stubbornness and ego.
With the "surge" now about halfway in place, the U.S. military
reports that the number of American soldiers who have died in and
around Baghdad over the past seven weeks has nearly doubled. And
that was before the renewed opposition from radical Shi'ites and
the latest upswing in street-to-street fighting in Sunni
neighborhoods.
When the summer temperatures start exceeding 100 degrees, the
scattered American troops living in police stations will face other
challenges, avoiding dehydration and staying supplied. One seasoned
observer of Iraq told me that the idea of scattering U.S. soldiers
to police outposts is madness.
Keane’s refusal to serve as a "war czar" who would coordinate
administration policy in support of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan is another sign of the doom and gloom that surrounds
Bush's latest plan.
The Washington Post reported that Keane was one of three retired
four-star generals who declined the post. "It was discussed weeks
ago," Keane said in confirming his rejection of the offer.
Retired Marine Gen. John Sheehan was another four-star who rebuffed
the White House. "The very fundamental issue is, they don’t know
where the hell they're going," Sheehan told the Post. "So rather
than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said,
'No, thanks'."
After getting calls about the "war czar" post from national
security adviser Stephen Hadley, Sheehan said he checked around to
get a sense of the administration's direction.
"There's the residue of the Cheney view -- 'We're going to win, al-
Qaeda's there' -- that justifies anything we did," Sheehan said.
"And then there's the pragmatist view -- how the hell do we get out
of Dodge and survive? Unfortunately, the people with the former
view are still in the positions of most influence."
The third general rejecting the job offer was identified as retired
Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston. [Washington Post, April 11, 2007]
Three Branches
The rejection of the White House from representatives of three
service branches suggests how prevalent the doubts about Bush's war
policies are . But Keane's refusal to coordinate administration
support for his own idea is perhaps most telling.
Many military and intelligence analysts see the "surge" as little
more than an escalation of Bush's "stay the course" approach that
has led the United States deeper and deeper into the Iraqi
quagmire, with nearly 3,300 American soldiers now dead along with
possibly hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
To these critics, the "surge" is less a change in military strategy
-- as Bush presents it -- than a shift in political tactics,
dangling a repackaged war plan before the American public to buy
time so the President can secure another $100 billion from Congress
with no strings attached.
So far, the major U.S. news media mostly has fallen into Bush's
trap by promoting every statement from Iraq that purports to show
progress, much as happened during the early phases of the war when
the administration’s happy talk went largely unchallenged.
The Washington press corps also hasn't challenged Bush when he
asserts that the "surge" is a case of him following the advice of
his field commanders and that the Democrats are interfering with
what the generals want.
The American people "don't want politicians in Washington telling
our generals how to fight a war," Bush said at an April 3 press
briefing, scolding congressional Democrats for seeking a gradual
withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
The polite Washington press corps rarely notes that Bush was the
politician in Washington "telling our generals how to fight a war,"
that he simply removed senior commanders who disagreed with him.
It now appears that Bush is even having trouble finding a retired
military leader to become "war czar." Not even the guy who helped
invent the "surge" wants the job.
~~~
Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for
the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, "Secrecy &
Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq," can be
ordered at:
secrecyandprivilege.com
It's also available at Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, "Lost
History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press, & 'Project Truth'."
To comment at Consortiumblog, click here:
http://consortiumblog.com/
To comment to us by e-mail, click here:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/contact.html
To donate so we can continue reporting and publishing stories like
the one you just read, click here:
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/
consortiumnews/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=2043
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