Career officer does eye-opening stint inside Pentagon

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/editorial/6424570.htm

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What I saw was aberrant, pervasive and contrary to good order and discipline. If one is seeking the answers to why peculiar bits of ``intelligence'' found sanctity in a presidential speech, or why the post-Hussein occupation has been distinguished by confusion and false steps, one need look no further than the process inside the Office of the Secretary of Defense. I can identify three prevailing themes.

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• Functional isolation of the professional corps. -snip-

• Cross-agency cliques: -snip-

• Groupthink. -snip-

I am now retired. Shortly before my retirement I was allowed to return to my primary office of assignment, having served in NESA as a desk officer backfill for 10 months. The transfer was something I had sought, but my wish was granted only after I made a particular comment to my superior, in response to my reading of a February Secretary of State cable answering a long list of questions from a Middle Eastern country regarding U.S. planning for the aftermath in Iraq. The answers had been heavily crafted by the Pentagon, and to me, they were remarkably inadequate, given the late stage of the game. I suggested to my boss that if this was as good as it got, some folks on the Pentagon's E-ring may be sitting beside Hussein in the war crimes tribunals.
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ah yes, the E-ring gang of criminals staining the pentagon

After eight years of Bill Clinton, many military officers breathed a sigh of relief when George W. Bush was named president. I was in that plurality. At one time, I would have believed the administration's accusations of anti-Americanism against anyone who questioned the integrity and good faith of President Bush, Vice President Cheney or Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

However, while working from May 2002 through February 2003 in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Near East South Asia and Special Plans (USDP/NESA and SP) in the Pentagon, I observed the environment in which decisions about post-war Iraq were made.

Those observations changed everything.
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I don't know how much more of this kind of thing I can read and still keep my head from exploding when I look at the poll numbers and the media ass-kissing that STILL predominates in coverage of this mis-administration.

She can even attest that State was squeezed out of decisions by the PNAC gang.

Keep it kicked in my opinion. The TRUTH will out when and as more insiders speak out. We need to encourage this and keep articles out there for people to see.

:kick:

It's no surpprise but it's still sad to see these confirmations. Thanks for posting