"Bush campaign ads using team"

[kandrathe]

All I can say as somebody who has done quite some studytime on counterinsurgency/low intensity warfare, the post-war policy/strategy in Iraq has been mishandled in such a way that sometimes I'm left wondering how people can be so incompetent.

Part of the problem is that too many people put stock in rosey scenarios and theoretical possibilities, rather than take the advice of people who had their boots on the ground. It's easy for us to be arm chair generals complaining about the spilt milk. I suspect that a] the insurgency was underestimated b] the logistics of containing it were beyond their capabilities due to a] , and c] civilization crashed to zero there for about 3 months until Bremer was able to re-establish basic infrastructures making b] more difficult to implement and therefore delayed by many weeks. Like any war plan you predict the extremes and the likely scenario. I doubt this thing unfolded anything like their "likely scenario".

There was a time when Congress was clamoring for sending in more troops. The problem then was that what remained to be called in were combat soldiers, not the specialists needed in administration, military police, construction engineers, etc which were what was needed. So, more bodies without training in the needed skills would just result in a bigger logistics problem, and potentially more body bags being flown home. So yeah, there should have been better planning. But, like in 1994. We need to retool the post cold war military into a force that has an adequate combat force, but also can step in and rebuild a post war shattered country, keep order, and step out quickly. They might have been counting on the UN, NATO, or other nations to step forward and shoulder some of the burden.