Far graver than Vietnam -US Military officials to bush; yer a FAILURE.

[LynnTheDem]

Most senior US military officers now believe the war on Iraq has turned into a disaster on an unprecedented scale.

'Bring them on!" President Bush challenged the early Iraqi insurgency in July of last year. Since then, 812 American soldiers have been killed and 6,290 wounded, according to the Pentagon. Almost every day, in campaign speeches, Bush speaks with bravado about how he is "winning" in Iraq. "Our strategy is succeeding," he boasted to the National Guard convention on Tuesday.

But, according to the US military's leading strategists and prominent retired generals, Bush's war is already lost.

Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency, told me: "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends."

General Odom remarked that the tension between the Bush administration and the senior military officers over Iraqi was worse than any he has ever seen with any previous government, including Vietnam. "I've never seen it so bad between the office of the secretary of defence and the military. There's a significant majority believing this is a disaster. The two parties whose interests have been advanced have been the Iranians and al-Qaida. Bin Laden could argue with some cogency that our going into Iraq was the equivalent of the Germans in Stalingrad. They defeated themselves by pouring more in there. Tragic."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1305360,00.html

What's TRAGIC is the entire world having WARNED bushCartel and their brownshirters of exactly this...BEFORE the invasion.

[Jacobin]

1. Thank GOD this isn't in the American media

I mean, it could impair LordGodBush's chances at re-sElection and create doubt in the minds of his devout followers.

We need to email the WH and congress and thank them for intimidating the media into only telling nice and good stories about our WarPretzledent. Who would want to hear something so negative?

/sarcasm

[Julian English]

2. This Is Congruent with General Conway's Statement

Outgoing commander questions U.S. strategy on Falluja
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/09/13/falluja/

"Conway questioned the decision Sunday. "When you order elements of a Marine division to attack a city, you really need to understand what the consequences of that will be and not vacillate in the middle of something like that," he said. "Once you commit, you have to stay committed."

The creation of the Falluja Brigade also fell on Conway through Sanchez's orders. While the brigade had high hopes from Iraqis, it got little accomplished, and reports of soldiers mixing with insurgents eventually led to the end of the brigade."

[cthrumatrix]

3. notice...it's from the Guardian ...not corp owned US media

[michigandem2]

4. I hate the way our media is hiding the truth...

its disgusting....the whole world is depending on us to make the right choice in november...well except for maybe the TERRORISTS! ugghhh

[havocmom]

5. OT but possibly pertinent: That video of Rumsfeld played on Daily Show

last night, where Rummy kept saying Saddam instead of Osama... as in his wondering about whether he was dead or alive... was that really from last Friday, Sept 10, 2004?!?! I was away and didn't see any news.

If Rumsfeld was that confused last Friday, the military brass has more than just how Iraq is failing to worry about. If the head of DOD is that confused in an address, what the hell is he doing in office?

Sure hope the brass doesn't give the military officer following the pRedisent the real football. Also wonder why the blazes they haven't gone, en masse, to Congress to make the case for bushco being Unfit For Command due to any one of dozens of reasons.

As much as I fear a military coup, I recognize that a corporate coup took place in 2000, hijacking the might of the United States of America for their own agenda and without regard to the welfare of the people, the honor of this nation, the security of the world. I also recognize that most who serve in the military AND Intel actually do serve and love their country above all else. I have hoped they would go before Congress with information to make the case for impeachment of many of the top people in the malAdministration. It gets to a point of just what their oaths are to: America, a nation of people and laws, or just whatever derelict has enough pull to steal a chair in the Oval Office. Too many lives hang in the balance.

edit: typo

[tabasco]

6. Thanks for posting this.

I'm a former Army officer, and I concur with the pessimistic view of the Iraq war. Ten questions I would submit to the President:
1. What was the reason for rushing into war when weapons inspectors were scouring Iraq?
2. Why did you not fully consider the human cost of the invasion and subsequent occupation?
3. Why would you declare "mission accomplished" when any competent military planner would have told you the mission had just begun?
4. How long will the military occupation of Iraq continue?
5. What is your plan for fixing the personnel shortages in the military?
6. Considering that you condemned nation building prior to becoming President, why do you think liberating the Iraqi people is a valid stand-alone reason for the invasion?
7. Why did you selectively choose intelligence supporting the case for war, when an overwhelming amount of intelligence, from more reliable sources, did not support a US invasion.
8. What is the current percentage of American troops in the coalition?

9. What is the percentage of Americans WIA / KIA among coalition casualties.
10. Do you believe Iraq is a safe place for Americans to visit?

edit typo

[Poiuyt]

7. Bush's response:

"It doesn't matter. Saddam's gone!"

[quaoar]

8. Further evidence of Bush's military ineptitude

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/16/fallujah/index.html

[johnnie]

9. I wish there was a way to get this out there

I believe that even if this was reported, so many people have their heads so far up their asses that they wouldn't even pay attention to this stuff.
Sometimes being one of us seems like you are swimming upstream. It amazes me that so many people just don't give a shit about anything as long as their party is winning. This isn't a fucking football game.

[Killarney]

10. Again, we need the GUARDIAN to do the job of our media.

Our media sucks balls!

[NoSunWithoutShadow]

11. Similar story on the UR front page of the NYT Sept. 16

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/16/politics/16intel.html

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - A classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush in late July spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq, government officials said Wednesday.

The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms.

>snip<

As described by the officials, the pessimistic tone of the new estimate stands in contrast to recent statements by Bush administration officials, including comments on Wednesday by Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, who asserted that progress was being made