NATO general doesn't dispute Iraq 'debacle' claim

progress = FUBAR = fucked up beyond all repair.

Bush is losing two wars at the same time, and if he starts a third one, he will surely lose that one as well.

U.S. is at critical crossroads in Afghanistan

Taliban resurgence and bumper opium crop offer new threats to stability

By Jim Miklaszewski
Chief Pentagon correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 9:58 a.m. ET Oct 4, 2006

NATO's top commander, U.S. General James Jones, warns Afghanistan is at a critical crossroads, calling it "a moment of truth."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15117181/

U.S. European Commander Confirms Quotes in Book
By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 5, 2006; Page A18


Gen. James L. Jones is quoted in Bob Woodward's "State of Denial" as calling the Iraq war a "debacle." (Charles Dharapak - AP)

One of the highest-ranking generals in the U.S. military yesterday stood by views attributed to him in a controversial new book about the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq but said it was important to understand the context in which those views were expressed.

Marine Gen. James L. Jones, the U.S. commander for Europe, is quoted in "State of Denial," by The Washington Post's Bob Woodward, as believing that the war in Iraq is a "debacle" and that "The Joint Chiefs have been systematically emasculated by Rumsfeld." As Marine commandant, the post he held before moving to Europe, Jones was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The book also quotes Jones as delivering a warning about working with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to Marine Gen. Peter Pace, who was about to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs. "You should not be the parrot on the secretary's shoulder," Jones reportedly told Pace.

Jones's confirmation of Woodward's account is especially noteworthy because in the book, Pace denies that Jones made such remarks to him. Also, Jones's comments suggest that active-duty generals are beginning to criticize the defense secretary and the Iraq war with the harshness that several retired generals have used recently.

Speaking at a Washington meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations, Jones said he had a long discussion with Pace in Stuttgart, Germany, in September 2005, and then met with Woodward in Brussels that December. He characterized both Pace and Woodward as old friends. Speaking of the book's account of the September conversation, he said, "I don't challenge Bob's characterization of it, except that had I seen (the book), I probably would have suggested that the tone was more critical than I intended it to be."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/04/AR2006100401741.html

from the tone of the book. Joint Chief of staffs did not like him at all, bad boss.

:kick: