DENVER, June 29, 2008
Army: Iraq Occupation Was Understaffed
700-Page Study Finds There Weren't Enough Soldiers To Handle War From The Beginning
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(CBS/AP)
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President George W. Bush's statement on May 1, 2003, that major combat operations were over reinforced that view, the study said.
It was written by Donald P. Wright and Col. Timothy R. Reese of the Combat Operations Study Team at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., who said that planners who requested more troops were ignored and that commanders in Baghdad were replaced without enough of a transition and lacked enough staff.
Gen. William S. Wallace, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, said in a foreword that it's no surprise that a report with these conclusions was written.
"One of the great and least understood qualities of the United States Army is its culture of introspection and self-examination," he wrote.
The report said that the civilian and military planning for a post-Saddam Iraq was inadequate, and that the Army should have pushed the Joint Chiefs of Staff for better planning and preparation.
Retired military leaders, members of Congress, think tanks and others have already concluded that the occupation was understaffed.
At least 4,113 U.S. military members have died in Iraq, according to a count by The Associated Press.
Hundreds of commanders and other soldiers and officials were interviewed for the report released Sunday. The Army ordered the study to review what happened in the 18 months after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime. A report on the invasion was released earlier.
The report said that after Saddam's regime was removed from power, most commanders and units expected to transition to stability and support operations, similar to what was seen in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Commanders with the mindset that victory had already been achieved believed that a post-combat Iraq would require "only a limited commitment by the U.S. military and would be relatively peaceful and short as Iraqis quickly assumed responsibility," the study said.
"Few commanders foresaw that full spectrum operations in Iraq would entail the simultaneous employment of offense, defense, stability, and support operations by units at all echelons of command to defeat new, vicious, and effective enemies," it added.
The report said the first Bush administration and its advisers had assumed incorrectly that the Saddam regime would collapse after the first Gulf War.
When Saddam was so quickly defeated in 2003, there was an absence of authority that led to widespread looting and violence, the report said. Soldiers initially had no plan to deal with that. The administration's decision to remove Saddam's followers entirely from power caused governmental services to collapse, "fostering a huge unemployment problem," it said.
Planners in the Iraq headquarters said 300,000 troops would be needed for the occupation. Even before the invasion, some planners had called for 300,000 troops to be sent for the invasion and occupation.
During an April 16, 2003, visit to Baghdad, coalition commander Gen. Tommy Franks told his subordinate leaders to prepare to move most of their forces out of Iraq by September of that year, the report noted.
"In line with the prewar planning and general euphoria at the rapid crumbling of the Saddam regime, Franks continued to plan for a very limited role for U.S. ground forces in Iraq," the report said.
The report said it wasn't until July 16, 2003, that Franks' successor, Gen. John Abizaid, said coalition forces were facing a classic guerrilla insurgency.
Even so, the coalition made some progress, only to have its optimism dashed after the insurgency boiled over in April 2004, when Sunni Arab insurgents and Shiite militias launched violent assaults in many parts of Iraq, the report said.
The authors said the Army had considerable experience and training for guerrilla wars but had not been in one like Iraq since 1992 in Somalia. They said former Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Franks "that he thought too few troops were envisioned in the (invasion) plan."
Some commanders told the authors they asked about plans for making the country stable and got no answers.
The "post-war situation in Iraq was severely out of line with the suppositions made at nearly every level before the war," the report said.
Its writers said it was clear in January 2005 that the Army would remain in Iraq for some time, the writers concluded. The report covered the period from May 2003 to January 2005.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 100 CommentsUnity of the Oppressed. Join the Pride Parade.
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and occupation of other countries
Unity of the Oppressed. Join the Pride Parade.
OBAMA 08!
1-800-DEM-BOYS (donate)
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Posted by MCVet-Unity at 09:07 PM : Jun 29, 2008
+ report abuse
Now you know I like to see you NAZI do your best.. it makes it so much more fun. YOU are truly in need of additional training. NO ONE is going to notice you with this. YOUR Hate Target isn''t well defined. The HATE Target you picked, because of Senator Craig and the Toe Tappers Association, is OUT OF DATE and of no use. In the end, if I were grading you on being a good Nazi and spreading hate for those who don''t support the "party" I''d have to fail you. Now if you will go to the Klan site in your state, they have work groups available to teach you Nazi''s how to spread HATE and division to win... they are very good at it too. Now put your hood and sheet on and help me out here!! READY??? Sieg Heil Bush!! Dumb as a box of rocks folks... ROFLMAO
Why does CBS news or ANY OTHER news agency waste time in reporting the OBVIOUS! (Obvious to anyone with above a shoe-size IQ)!
Posted by jb01201a at 09:34 PM : Jun 29, 2008
Not a "meane", but a mass-muderer and war criminal that should be sent to prison or the gallows, not to bed.
Generals were telling this administration they needed more troops before they even invaded.
Not that this president cares what -anyone- thinks... he''s "the decider".
He''ll make things "much betterer". Idiot.
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---------
Geeez.....what a no-brainer.
Next thing they will be telling us is that there was a study done to determine there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Posted by jb01201a at 09:49 PM : Jun 29, 2008
No, he wasn''t smart enough to pull that off. Still you can bet the farm that he and Cheney were dancing and celebrating as the towers fell, because they knew they now had the "Pearl Harbor type event" they needed to lie the country into an invasion of Iraq, even though they knew Iraq had nothing to do with it.
Unity of the Oppressed. Join the Pride Parade.
OBAMA 08!
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Stealing elections And Ruining Everything he touches!
He IS a 100 % COMPLETE MORON !
And He`s the World`s Biggest Criminal !
He`s worn Out three paper shredders using The US Constitution !This War of his has Driven up the Price of OIL,Building materials and EVERYTHING Else!
Thousands of innocent people have lost their lives because of the GOP Sect CRIMINAL GREED !
STOP THIS MADNESS !!! BAN the EVIL GOP SECT !
McSame is MORE of King W !
NO MORE GOP ! NO MORE GOP ! NO MORE GOP !!
Waterboard SHRUB ! Deadeye Dicck Too !
Send ALL RE-CONS Hunting With Dicck,..Give Him Plenty of Booze,..Cindy McHooters will Supply the Beer !If Any return Alive,Jail Them,in Insane A$$YSlums,Divvy up their Wealth,..providing Health Care For the remaining Sane voters, The Democrats!!
The Future of The Planet Depends on US !
UNDER NO circumstances, Do NOT Be Scared into voting for These Career, Criminally Insane GOP SECT Members ANY MORE !Friends NEVER Friends Vote republiCon!
Must be that the democrats aren''t even in his league.
Posted by Barocalto at 09:59 PM : Jun 29, 2008
It won''t do him much good in prison or on death row.
Unity of the Oppressed. Join the Pride Parade.
OBAMA 08!
1-800-DEM-BOYS (donate)
Change We Can Believe In!
Yes We Can!
It won''''t do him much good in prison or on death row.
....................
If you think Bush is going to prison you better cut back on the Prozac.
I''ll tell you who the party of alleged accountability and responsibility will hold accountable.....no one. No one is ever held accountable by this administration just as in 9-11 and their many other screw-ups.
- yea, that one I still not have gooten over.
Stealing elections And Ruining Everything he touches!
He IS a 100 % COMPLETE MORON !
And He`s the World`s Biggest Criminal !
He`s worn Out three paper shredders using The US Constitution !This War of his has Driven up the Price of OIL,Building materials and EVERYTHING Else!
Thousands of innocent people have lost their lives because of the GOP Sect CRIMINAL GREED !
STOP THIS MADNESS !!! BAN the EVIL GOP SECT !
McSame is MORE of King W !
NO MORE GOP ! NO MORE GOP ! NO MORE GOP !!
Waterboard SHRUB ! Deadeye Dicck Too !
Send ALL RE-CONS Hunting With Dicck,..Give Him Plenty of Booze,..Cindy McHooters will Supply the Beer !If Any return Alive,Jail Them,in Insane A$$YSlums,Divvy up their Wealth,..providing Health Care For the remaining Sane voters, The Democrats!!
The Future of The Planet Depends on US !
UNDER NO circumstances, Do NOT Be Scared into voting for These Career, Criminally Insane GOP SECT Members ANY MORE !Friends NEVER let Friends Vote republiCon!
- yea, that one I still not have gooten over.
Posted by jb01201a
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Just think if Al Gore had only won his home state how things would have been different but no the people of Tenn. said Al Gore we know you better then anyone else and frankly you''re not fit to be President.
For that I thank the people of Tenn over and over again.
The Future of The Planet Depends on US !
.....................
Where do you get this stuff.
no neocons are allowed !
Oh are you trying to silence me??? How fascists of you.
Beside dude I''m a Californian and a registered independent.
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane..... Marcus Aurelius
Posted by BajaJohn1
.......................
Where do you get this stuff from??? Maybe you better get back to your GED studies and hopefully you''ll past this time.
Posted by BajaJohn1
.......................
Thanks but the worst Administration in the history of the country was and will remain Jimmy Carter.
However I will admit that Bush has been a very poor President and I''m not defending his administration.
Posted by jb01201a
......................
Thanks but as you can tell I''m not going to stop. (Except for dinner) Please lets not try and keep people from posting their opinions. Well I don''t agree with many I would fight with all might to make sure you have your free speech.
Posted by Rickstas
................
Amen to that
Just as Mcshame needs Lieberman to stand next to him and correct him every other word.
Posted by Barocalto at 10:15 PM : Jun 29, 2008
Posted by rharrin1 at 10:31 PM : Jun 29, 2008
The best president in the last 100 years, by far and with no one else even close, was FDR. Reagan was the 2nd worst president of modern times, following the current chimp who is easily the worst ever.
No, reaally ????
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