Rumsfeld Blames Generals for Troop Strength

Some recently released Pentagon documents include an "hour-long talk [then-Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had with military officers in late 2006." The Swamp's Aamer Madhani highlights this bizarre exchange: Q: Hey, also your favorite subject: looking back. What's become conventional wisdom, simply Shinseki was right. If we ...

AQI Leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri Arrested UPDATE: Mistaken Identity

The Iraqi government claims to have arrested Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday. Mohammed al-Askari said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi ...

Zero Sum Wars

Fred Kagan Kaplan makes the argument that, as a matter of practicality, the only way for Robert Gates to move 7,000 more troops into Afghanistan is to take 7,000 troops out of Iraq.Let's look at the numbers. After the last of the five "surge" brigades goes home this summer, the U.S. Army will have 13 brigade combat teams in Iraq (the ...

Baghdad Luxury Hotels and Condos

The Pentagon is backing a massive development project financed by Marriott and others to gentrify Baghdad. Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system. Now try to imagine luxury hotels, a shopping center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad. That's all part of a five-year development "dream list" — or what some dub an ...

Mission Accomplished 5 Year Anniversary

With characteristic snark, Spencer Ackerman commemorates the fifth anniversary of President Bush's infamous speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln commemorating the end of major combat operations. You know, the one where he had "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" behind him on a big banner. Of course, the banner referred to the crew of the Lincoln, which was on its way home, ...

McCain Flip-Flop on 100 Years in Iraq?

Josh Marshall is angry at the press for buying into what he believes is a lie: That John McCain doesn't want 100 years of war in Iraq but rather is willing to see a Germany-style long term, peaceful presence. McCain does not want to leave Iraq. Period. He wants tens of thousands of troops to stay in Iraq permanently. He ...

Headline of the Day

Dana Milbank wins with: "Iraq War Is Everyone Else's Fault, Feith Explains." I haven't read Feith's book but that's pretty much the thesis I've gathered from the interviews he's given about it. Given the superlatives that have been used to describe his lack of intelligence, it's hardly unexpected that he would try to salvage his reputation. And he's probably got a ...

Petraeus to CENTCOM, Odierno to Iraq Chief

Presuming Senate confirmation, the top Iraq commanders are both moving up one slot, with David Petraeus taking over Central Command, and thus oversight of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, and Ray Odierno picking up a fourth star and the top job in Iraq. Bush will nominate Petraeus to replace Navy Adm. William J. Fallon as chief of U.S. ...

Campaign Stars for Afghanistan and Iraq Medals

The Department of Defense announced yesterday that campaign stars are authorized for wear on the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) and Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM). That's no real surprise; the wars have been going on for quite some time and the practice is typical. I was initially authorized two campaign stars for my Southwest Asia Service Medal, one ...

The Decision to Invade Iraq and Its Aftermath

I strongly urge you to read the study with the above sub-title, mentioned in this post, a study which I think has been widely misinterpreted in the media and by the blogosphere. IMO the author of the paper, Joseph Collins, does an excellent job of laying out the institutional failures that have brought us to where we are now. ...

Not So Fast With That “Pentagon Study”

This morning the Miami Herald published a story quoting a “Pentagon study” that found the situation in Iraq “a major debacle” with the “outcome in doubt”. The story is also being carried by McClatchy, the Herald's parent company. Obviously, quite a few in the blogosphere have made substantial hay out of the piece. The excellent SWJ Blog contacted the ...

What Makes Iraq’s Islamists Special?

Bernard Finel, weighing in on the "Two Iraq Wars" debate, makes an interesting point: The fact is that there are many Islamist insurgencies around the world — Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, etc. All of them are potential locations for AQ to establish a safe haven… indeed, they have already established one in Pakistan. ...

Two Iraq Wars

Rusty Shackleford argues that discussions about the Iraq War get clouded with emotional and political baggage surrounding the decision to invade in 2003 and that we can gain clarity by speaking of two Iraq Wars: the successful invasion to topple Saddam's regime and the post-Saddam nation-building phase. The post-invasion period subjected Iraqis to the tyranny of chaos. The vacuum left by ...

More Iraqis Bug Out Under Fire

Another Iraqi unit has fled rather than fought, Michael Gordon reports. A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias. The retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense ...

Congresswoman Jackie Speier Booed at Swearing In

Jackie Speier, who was sworn in yesterday after a special election to replace the late Tom Lantos, was booed after she turned her introductory speech into a tirade against the war in Iraq. For a few feel-good moments on the floor of the U.S. House today, Jackie Speier basked in bipartisan applause as she was sworn in as its newest ...