[Vision2020] RE: Continuing "The Ramadi Hell Hole"

[Tom Hansen]

Copied and pasted below is an article from the July 6, 2006 edition of the
San Diego Union-Tribune written by Maj. Gen. John Batiste (Retired) who 
Commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

You're right, dick.  This is not about a war over a couple rice paddies (as
you put it).

It is a simple matter of accountability, something the Bush administration
(especially Rumsfeld) fails to assume. 

Rumsfeld broke something that we all must fix, regardless of the cost.

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Rumsfeld yet to be held accountable

By John Batiste
July 6, 2006 

Sadly, America has yet to hold Donald Rumsfeld accountable for his poor
judgment and failed decision-making. He alone is responsible for setting
America up for the prolonged challenge we now face as we continue to plug
away in Iraq and Afghanistan well into our fourth year. 

To say that our military will "stand down as the Iraqi Security Forces stand
up" is a slogan, not a strategy. The insurgency continues to gather steam in
its many forms, including al-Qaeda, the Iraqi homegrown insurgency (Sunni
versus Shia, Arab versus Kurd), criminal Mafia-style gangs, tribal
infighting and Iranian support to Shia militia. 

Since the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, we all witness continuing chaos. We
have yet to see a turning point. In fact, Rumsfeld's plan for Iraq allowed
the various forms of the insurgency to take root in the spring of 2003 and
continue to grow and grow to where it is today. At the current pace, it will
take three to five years for the Iraqi army to be in a position to go it
alone and 10 years for the Iraqi police to do the same. 

Were it not for Rumsfeld, it would not have been this way. 

America has yet to hold Rumsfeld accountable for his damaging mistakes. He
sent Americans to war with a flawed plan that ignored the lessons of history
and violated basic principles of war. He did not set our great country and
military up for success. We must confront the past and reconcile mistakes in
judgment before we can move forward. 

Rumsfeld set the conditions for our current protracted challenge back in
late 2002 and 2003. If he had listened to competent military advice,
"stuff," as he characterizes it, would not have happened. 

Many find it outrageous that he is quick to hold junior soldiers and Marines
accountable for their actions, but continues to dodge responsibility for
setting the very conditions that our great military is dealing with today. 

Leaders are accountable at every echelon, and Haditha and Abu Ghraib are but
symptoms of major failures. Rumsfeld and his inner circle did not and do not
know how to win. He had a failed vision and no plan of action after the
removal of Saddam Hussein. He totally ignored the challenge of building the
peace, setting Iraq up for self-reliance, and the inevitability of the
insurgency. The war planning and preparation for the March 2003 invasion of
Iraq fell miserably short in the requirements to accomplish the full range
of the mission and win. 

I am continually drawn back to the notion that a leader is responsible for
everything that happens or fails to happen in his or her organization.
Rumsfeld had it his way, and he must be held accountable. 

Further, our leaders, including the Congress, must mobilize the American
people, generate the required political will and provide the resources
needed to win in Iraq. Otherwise, we will never go the distance and American
lives and our national treasury will continue to be wasted. We need the
right leadership at the top of the Department of Defense. Otherwise, we are
all on the bus to Abilene. 

How do we win in Iraq? 

Win we must and an early withdrawal from Iraq will only set the region up
for disastrous consequences. America needs to turn the reins over to Iraq
sooner rather than later, but challenges continue in establishing the
security necessary for a free society to flourish: training and equipping
competent Iraqi security forces; and identifying the turning point where
Iraqi's are prepared to take charge and lead. 

I suggest we renew our commitment to establish security in Iraq in order for
a "democratic government" to take hold and develop. Security will set the
conditions for the much-needed development of Iraqi oil, electricity and
water infrastructure. The people of Iraq must experience improvements to
their quality of life. 

Our political leaders must mobilize the American people for a long-term
commitment of five to 10 years. A quick read of insurgencies over the past
100 years would suggest nothing less. This is not about partisan politics,
but what is good for America. 

American citizens expect our military to win and deserve accountability in
its Department of Defense leadership. Keep in mind that Rumsfeld is not
elected; he is an appointed official. He is accountable to every one of us,
and we all deserve leaders whose instinct and judgment we trust. 

We owe this to our servicemen and women who are putting their lives on the
line every day in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have no alternative but to finish
what we started and to fix what Rumsfeld broke. 

Victory hangs in the balance.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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"In America, anybody can become president.  
That's one of the risks you take . . ."

- Adlai Stevenson

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