×
There was some excitement last week about the release of a report by Joe Collins, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Bush administration, suggesting the Iraq War was a debacle and that Donald Rumsfeld was largely responsible. Since the release, Collins and a host of right-wing bloggers have assailed the McClatchy's characterization of the nature of the report and of its specific contents. Jason Sigger digs in and finds that, in fact, the report's treatment of Donald Rumsfeld is quite brutal. Here are some direct quotes:
- The role Secretary Rumsfeld played in the development of the details of the battle plan and the flow of the invasion force was unique in recent memory.
- Throughout their dialogue, and into the deployment of the force, the aggressive, hands-on Rumsfeld cajoled and pushed his way toward a small force and a lightning-fast operation. Later, he shut down the military’s automated deployment system, questioning, delaying, or deleting units on the numerous deployment orders that came across his desk.
- The tight link between Vice President Cheney and Secretary Rumsfeld was a key association and one peculiar to this administration. One expert talked about the dominance of the Cheney-Rumsfeld viewpoint as a “thumb on the scales” of the national security decisionmaking process.
Sigger also has some thoughts about the rest of the report; check them out.
--Robert Farley
