bruut geweld
2 september 2004, 22:05
Bush administration ignored advice, had no plan to win peace in Iraq --
POL-KERRY-IRAQ Bush administration ignored advice, had no plan to win peace in Iraq -- Kerry WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (KUNA) -- Senator John Kerry on Wednesday launched his most detailed attack to date on the Bush administration's Iraq policy, saying the administration ignored the advice of those who spelled out before the Iraq war last year what it would take to win the peace. The certainty of winning the Iraq war "placed the most solemn obligation on the civilian leadership of this country to make certain that we had a plan to win the peace," Kerry, the Democratic Party nominee for president, said during a speech at the American Legion National Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. General Eric Shinseki, the former U.S. Army chief of staff, said prior to the war that the United States would need several hundred thousand American troops to win the peace in Iraq and do the job properly, Kerry said. "His candor was rewarded with early retirement and his advice ignored, sending a chilling message throughout the ranks of the professional military," Kerry said. By dismissing the State Department's plan for postwar Iraq, and proceeding unilaterally, the Bush administration did not put the mechanism in place to be able to secure Iraq, Kerry said. "They were unprepared for the looting, insecurity and insurgency that burst out with the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime," he said. "They failed to secure Iraq's borders, and so allowed thousands of foreign terrorists, Islamist militants and intelligence agents to penetrate and destabilize postwar Iraq. Amazingly, they had no real plan for postwar political transition". This happened despite clear and precise bipartisan warnings from Congress and regional experts, he added. As the challenge in Iraq grew, the administration failed to share responsibility with NATO or the United Nations, "failed to share reconstruction or decision-making as a way of inviting others to shoulder the burden; and failed to provide the security on the ground necessary for postwar reconstruction," Kerry said. "They rushed and short-changed the training and equipment of the Iraqi police. They failed to recruit enough experts in language and culture of the region, and used those that they had ineffectively". The administration decided to disband the Iraqi military completely, so there was no internal structure to maintain order, he said. "They chose consciously to put an American instead of an international face on the occupation; failed to prepare for a large number of prisoners," the Massachusetts senator said. "And most significantly, failed even to guard nuclear waste and ammunition storage sites, despite the fact that weapons of mass destruction was their fundamental reason for the war. And some of the weapons that we did not guard are the very weapons being targeted at our troops today". "As a result, today terrorists have secured havens in Iraq that were not there before," he added. "And we have been forced to reach accommodation with those who have repeatedly attacked our troops". -- Violence has spread in Iraq, Iran has expanded its influence, and extremism had gained momentum, Kerry said. "When it comes to Iraq, it is not that I would have done one thing differently," Kerry said. "I would have done almost everything differently". "I would have relied on American troops in Tora Bora ... when we had Osama bin Laden in our sights, trapped in the mountains," Kerry said. "I would not have sent Afghans up into those mountains who a week earlier had been fighting on the other side. I would have sent the best-trained forces in the world to get the number one criminal and terrorist in the world". Kerry said he never would have diverted resources so quickly from Afghanistan before finishing the job there. In Iraq, Kerry said he would have given inspectors time to do the job "because by doing so, we could have brought other countries to our side, which is the way you provide our troops with the best protection, and the way you provide America with the greatest chance of success". The senator said he would have listened to senior U.S. military advisers, and made sure that every soldier put in harm's way had state-of-the-art body armor and Humvees, and the other equipment they needed. "I would have built a strong, broad coalition of our allies around the world ... because everyone here knows that the best way to protect the troops is to make sure not only that they have the equipment, but that they are going from the maximum position of strength," he said. Kerry said he does not think the United States needs what President George W. Bush this week described as "catastrophic success" in Iraq. "We need to share the burden and reduce the risk to American soldiers," Kerry said. "Together, we need to more rapidly train Iraqi police and military to take over the job of protecting the country. That is what I will do as commander-in-chief because ... that is the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home as fast as possible". (end)
bron :
rm.bz. KUNA 012031 Sep 04NNNN
nu weet ik ook wel dat het achteraf allemaal makkelijk praten is voor Kerry. maar het advies van de generaal en de experts in de wins slaan uit arrogantie is wel zeer ernstig; zeker als die eerder gebaseerd is op wishful thinking dan op concrete kennis van zaken en de regio.
de man werd na zijn advies op pensioen gestuurd...geen wonder dat er weinig openlijke kritiek kwam...
Land of the free ? well, if you're important enough to influence public opinion you have te agree with us, if not....
zelfde verhaal voor martin sheen en susan sarandon..
free ? als je ertegen kan dat je nadien gekraakt wordt. de politieke armen reiken blijkbaar ver buiten washington
POL-KERRY-IRAQ Bush administration ignored advice, had no plan to win peace in Iraq -- Kerry WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (KUNA) -- Senator John Kerry on Wednesday launched his most detailed attack to date on the Bush administration's Iraq policy, saying the administration ignored the advice of those who spelled out before the Iraq war last year what it would take to win the peace. The certainty of winning the Iraq war "placed the most solemn obligation on the civilian leadership of this country to make certain that we had a plan to win the peace," Kerry, the Democratic Party nominee for president, said during a speech at the American Legion National Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. General Eric Shinseki, the former U.S. Army chief of staff, said prior to the war that the United States would need several hundred thousand American troops to win the peace in Iraq and do the job properly, Kerry said. "His candor was rewarded with early retirement and his advice ignored, sending a chilling message throughout the ranks of the professional military," Kerry said. By dismissing the State Department's plan for postwar Iraq, and proceeding unilaterally, the Bush administration did not put the mechanism in place to be able to secure Iraq, Kerry said. "They were unprepared for the looting, insecurity and insurgency that burst out with the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime," he said. "They failed to secure Iraq's borders, and so allowed thousands of foreign terrorists, Islamist militants and intelligence agents to penetrate and destabilize postwar Iraq. Amazingly, they had no real plan for postwar political transition". This happened despite clear and precise bipartisan warnings from Congress and regional experts, he added. As the challenge in Iraq grew, the administration failed to share responsibility with NATO or the United Nations, "failed to share reconstruction or decision-making as a way of inviting others to shoulder the burden; and failed to provide the security on the ground necessary for postwar reconstruction," Kerry said. "They rushed and short-changed the training and equipment of the Iraqi police. They failed to recruit enough experts in language and culture of the region, and used those that they had ineffectively". The administration decided to disband the Iraqi military completely, so there was no internal structure to maintain order, he said. "They chose consciously to put an American instead of an international face on the occupation; failed to prepare for a large number of prisoners," the Massachusetts senator said. "And most significantly, failed even to guard nuclear waste and ammunition storage sites, despite the fact that weapons of mass destruction was their fundamental reason for the war. And some of the weapons that we did not guard are the very weapons being targeted at our troops today". "As a result, today terrorists have secured havens in Iraq that were not there before," he added. "And we have been forced to reach accommodation with those who have repeatedly attacked our troops". -- Violence has spread in Iraq, Iran has expanded its influence, and extremism had gained momentum, Kerry said. "When it comes to Iraq, it is not that I would have done one thing differently," Kerry said. "I would have done almost everything differently". "I would have relied on American troops in Tora Bora ... when we had Osama bin Laden in our sights, trapped in the mountains," Kerry said. "I would not have sent Afghans up into those mountains who a week earlier had been fighting on the other side. I would have sent the best-trained forces in the world to get the number one criminal and terrorist in the world". Kerry said he never would have diverted resources so quickly from Afghanistan before finishing the job there. In Iraq, Kerry said he would have given inspectors time to do the job "because by doing so, we could have brought other countries to our side, which is the way you provide our troops with the best protection, and the way you provide America with the greatest chance of success". The senator said he would have listened to senior U.S. military advisers, and made sure that every soldier put in harm's way had state-of-the-art body armor and Humvees, and the other equipment they needed. "I would have built a strong, broad coalition of our allies around the world ... because everyone here knows that the best way to protect the troops is to make sure not only that they have the equipment, but that they are going from the maximum position of strength," he said. Kerry said he does not think the United States needs what President George W. Bush this week described as "catastrophic success" in Iraq. "We need to share the burden and reduce the risk to American soldiers," Kerry said. "Together, we need to more rapidly train Iraqi police and military to take over the job of protecting the country. That is what I will do as commander-in-chief because ... that is the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home as fast as possible". (end)
bron :
rm.bz. KUNA 012031 Sep 04NNNN
nu weet ik ook wel dat het achteraf allemaal makkelijk praten is voor Kerry. maar het advies van de generaal en de experts in de wins slaan uit arrogantie is wel zeer ernstig; zeker als die eerder gebaseerd is op wishful thinking dan op concrete kennis van zaken en de regio.
de man werd na zijn advies op pensioen gestuurd...geen wonder dat er weinig openlijke kritiek kwam...
Land of the free ? well, if you're important enough to influence public opinion you have te agree with us, if not....
zelfde verhaal voor martin sheen en susan sarandon..
free ? als je ertegen kan dat je nadien gekraakt wordt. de politieke armen reiken blijkbaar ver buiten washington