[Anyone] Iraq war - major debacle

[totem at laplaza.org]

           "Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a 
major debacle."

            That bleak assessment isn't from a Muslim extremist or a Bush basher; it's the first sentence of a 
sixty-page report released April 18, 2008 by the National Defense University called Choosing War; The 
Decision to Invade Iraq and Its Aftermath. The NDU website describes itself as the "premier center for 
Joint Professional Military Education and under the direction of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff." The 
report directly contradicts more than five years of happy talk by the Bush administration.

 In addition to the human and financial costs of the Iraq war (now $2 billion per week, all of which is 
deficit spending), the report identifies further consequences of our invasion: lost respect among our 
allies, doubts about our moral leadership in the world because of our occupation of a Muslim country 
and our treatment of detainees, diversion from the larger war on global terrorism, severe strains on the 
Army and Marine Corps, and, instead of making us safer, the transformation of Iraq into an "incubator 
of terrorism." In a tragic paradox, the report describes Iraq as both a "must win" and a "can't win." 
Numerous faulty assumptions, faulty planning, and an "imperious attitude" on the part of senior leaders 
have resulted in a "classic case of failure." Despite some recent gains, "the outcome of the war is in 
doubt."


the rest of the article:   http://www.journeywithjesus.net/