The undeniable truth about Iraq has been confirmed by the detailed information being provided by our most senior retired military leaders. Some try and deflect the real culprits by saying WHY did these Generals not come forward at the time? First, many of the facts now coming to light were classified and when The Army Chief of Staff did disagree with Bush he was removed so that any other similar minded officials would take note.
The two issues that been confirmed beyond any doubt by the information that has been revealed by our generals are:
Iraq was NO DANGER to the United States in March 2003 when Bush invaded.
The conduct of the war was dictated by Bush/Cheney and executed by Rumsfeld was responsible for the vast majority of the deaths and injuries and for the hundreds of billions of tax dollars we have spent on that war.
Issue # 1. Danger from Iraq
Generals Zinni and Trainor in their books have documented that Iraq was incapable of ANY military action beyond limited operations in the central portion of Iraq. They had no Air Force, Navy nor had they an effective Army. They were limited by the No-Fly zones from operating in the northern and southern areas of Iraq. This was the military assessment apart from the issue of WMD. In addition, the total body of intelligence about WMD clearly indicated that at best Saddam had some old gas filled artillery shells from the first gulf war and even those were thought to be suspect because the gas over time tends to loose its potency. The assessment by the CIA, DIA, Dept of Energy, and Dept of State was that Saddam had no active nuclear program and was not in possession of ANY nuclear capability. The desire he may have had for such weapons did not present any danger. There was NO creditable evidence of any viable bio material or any way to employ such material.
The generals have confirmed that the decision to invade Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and was made long before the attack on the United States.
On December 19, 2001 at a meeting between President Clinton and Pres-Elect Bush, Clinton told Bush that from his campaign statements it appeared Bush felt the two security issues most important to him were Missile Defense and Iraq. Bush confirmed that to Clinton. Clinton told Bush that he has a very different set of potential dangers- Al Qaeda, Middle East (Israel/Palestine conflict) and North Korea. Bush DID NOT RESPOND.
Right after the Supreme Court settled the 2000 election; VP Elect Cheney requested a security briefing from Secretary of Defense Cohen on Iraq. Not Iran, Not Al Qaeda, Not North Korea and not the Palestine issue- Just Iraq.
Gen Zinni, who was retired but serving as a security consultant at the Pentagon and who saw ALL the intelligence leading up to our invasion has stated he could not believe what Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were saying about the danger from Iraq given the intelligence he was seeing. It did not square with the information that he was reviewing. General Zinni has stated that the intelligence and military assessment of Saddam clearly showed he was no danger to the United States and had only limited capability within certain areas in Iraq itself.
Former Secretary of the Treasury confirms that the plan to take action against Iraq was on the drawing board at the first Bush Cabinet meeting in early 2001 about eight months BEFORE 9/11 or ANY talk about the War On Terrorism.
Issue #2 The conduct of the Iraq War
Most of the American deaths and injuries occurred after Saddam fell during our occupation of Iraq. Most of the money spent occurred during the occupation phase of the war. The reason we sustained most of the deaths and injuries is because of the decision by Bush as implemented by Rumsfeld to disregard the military plan for the Iraq War.
Soon after Rumsfeld took over he asked for a briefing on the Iraq War Plans. That plan was designated as OPLAN 1003-98. It had been prepared and updated over the past ten years by the people who ran the first Gulf War and was the BEST military assessment of the way a war should be conducted against Iraq including the required manpower. That plan called for 500,000 troops to properly insure security when the existing government fell. When Rumsfeld heard of the manpower requirement he said that was not correct and told the military staff including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the COS of the Army that it would only take 125,000 troops. Gen Franks was directed by Rumsfeld to revise the plan. He returned some time later with a requirement for 300,000 troops. Bush went to war with about 150,000 to control a country the size of California with 24 million people including about 300,000 former Saddam military that were dispersed thought the country.
The lack of manpower that resulted from the decision by Bush and implemented by Rumsfeld to abandon the most senior military advice and planning resulted in the following after Saddam fell:
We could not secure the several hundred Ammo Dumps spread thought Iraq. This is where the insurgents got the explosives and weapons they used to kill about 2,000 and injure over 15,000 of our young man and women.
We could not control the growing conflict between the factions in Iraq that have killed and injured our troops. Today this failure threatens a Civil war in Iraq.
We could not secure the borders and prevent outside terrorists from entering Iraq like Al Qaeda. Thus we have enabled terrorists, responsible for 9/11, to begin operating in Iraq where they did not operate PRIOR to our invasion.
We could not secure the oil, water and electrical infrastructure or provide the level of security that would enable Iraq to recover from Saddam and the impact of our invasion. After over three years, and three elections, the areas where the most people live are anything but secure.
The blood of 2,360 brave American Troops and over 17,000 combat injuries are on the hands of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld!
Other then the loss of life and injuries, the issue for me, having served in the military for 30 years, is that we have:
Deceived our brave and dedicated military into thinking their sacrifice was because America was threatened by Saddam and Iraq.
We sent our military into combat WITHOUT the troop levels or equipment to accomplish their mission and to minimize the danger to them.
Our President and his immediate subordinates are responsible for the loss of life and injuries to our military. We have not had many darker days in our history then during the administration of George W. Bush.