June 13, 2005
Damned If You Lie, Damned If You Don't
The official U.S. reaction to the latest leaked British memo -- this one charging that the Bush Administration had given "little thought" to the "aftermath" of its pending invasion of Iraq -- was fairly predictable:
The White House took exception yesterday to the characterization of the British memo. ''There was significant postwar planning," said spokesman David Almacy. ''More importantly, the memo in question was written eight months before the war began; there was significant postwar planning in the time that elapsed."
If the White House wants us to take it at its word, it is telling us that either:
The massive looting and general chaos that followed the overthrow of Baghdad was part of the plan. The ousting of Jay Garner in favour of Paul Bremer, after only a few weeks on the job, was part of the plan. Troop levels of insufficient magnitude to deal with the Resistance and in general keep the peace were part of the plan. The inability to protect against almost daily sabotage of Iraqi oil pipelines were part of the plan. That two years in to the occupation electricity levels would be nowhere near the pre-invasion level were part of the plan. And so on.
The Administration's planners were totally inept.
Almacy hints at the latter:
Some things we prepared for did not happen, like large numbers of refugees needing humanitarian assistance. And others we did not expect, such as large numbers of regime elements fleeing the battlefield only to return later.
Is Almacy trying to inspire confidence in the Bush Administration's skillz? If so, he's about as competent as the "significant planning" he says took place prior to the invasion.
Posted by Eddie Tews at June 13, 2005 09:22 AM
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