TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

U.S. Army Report Confirms What Most Of Thought All Along

ADVERTISEMENT

Highlands Today Staff

Published: June 30, 2008

The U.S. Army has released a study that states that leaders in the United States were more concerned with winning the military battle in Iraq than what to do once it was concluded. That's not exactly earth-shattering news, since most of us already know that, but the historical report is interesting because it's the first major report issued by U.S. military criticizing civilian leaders.

The study, "On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign" was written by Donald Wright and Col. Timothy R. Reese, along with the Army's Contemporary Operations Study Team, according to a Washington Post article. They say U.S. commanders lacked a realistic vision of what Iraq would look like after that triumph, according to the story.

"The transition to a new campaign was not well thought out, planned for, and prepared for before it began," wrote Wright and Reese. "Additionally, the assumptions about the nature of post Saddam Iraq on which the transition was planned proved to be largely incorrect."

Some of the biggest criticism in the 696-page report was focused on former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The study concludes that he spent too much time trying to modernize the military instead of focusing on the war.

The study looks at the years 2003 to 2005, which is the time frame most people are critical of our handling of the war. It's clear to these military experts, and the public as well, that the administration made a mess of this situation.

The United States went into the war without proper planning on what to do when the fighting stopped and the nation building began. We didn't have a clue. Mistake after mistake cost thousands of American lives and probably hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives. It's a real tragedy.

What has proven as a positive, though, is the performance of our troops who have served in Iraq. The failures of our leaders cannot be laid at their feet. They did exactly what they were told, and did it exceptionally well and with incredible bravery. But we all knew that, too.

Let's hope the lessons learned here will never be repeated.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT