Comments on: Wise Old Toddlers. http://donklephant.com/2006/07/28/wise-old-toddlers/ Big Teeth. Huge Ass. Surprisingly Reasonable. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:08:28 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Don http://donklephant.com/2006/07/28/wise-old-toddlers/comment-page-1/#comment-57542 Don Mon, 31 Jul 2006 23:01:51 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=2480#comment-57542 While Bush is certainly incompetent, let's spread the blame around a little. Gulf II featured many of the same key players as Gulf I, but with a few voices of sanity missing. In his autobio, Schwartzkopf notes that there were a handful of voices in Bush41's inner circle who were pushing for an offensive strike with his defensive force, without additional forces requested by CentCom. While most aren't named, he does note that SecDef Cheney dreamt up several offensive strategies that were (politely) dismissed by Schwartzkopf's planners and the JCS. Had the 'hawks in the White House' been successful, Gulf I would have been much bloodier than it turned out. Many of Bush41's inner circle became insiders in the Bush43 administration. Throw in Rumsfeld, a far more intimidating, far less accomodating, and equally incompetent armchair general than his protege as SecDef; top it off with a careerist Pentagon staff; and mix for the massive fiasco the US is in up to the eyeballs. As President, Bush should bear ultimate responsibility for the failure of Iraq, but he wasn't the one setting the strategy or calling the shots on the ground. While Bush is certainly incompetent, let’s spread the blame around a little. Gulf II featured many of the same key players as Gulf I, but with a few voices of sanity missing. In his autobio, Schwartzkopf notes that there were a handful of voices in Bush41’s inner circle who were pushing for an offensive strike with his defensive force, without additional forces requested by CentCom. While most aren’t named, he does note that SecDef Cheney dreamt up several offensive strategies that were (politely) dismissed by Schwartzkopf’s planners and the JCS. Had the ‘hawks in the White House’ been successful, Gulf I would have been much bloodier than it turned out.

Many of Bush41’s inner circle became insiders in the Bush43 administration. Throw in Rumsfeld, a far more intimidating, far less accomodating, and equally incompetent armchair general than his protege as SecDef; top it off with a careerist Pentagon staff; and mix for the massive fiasco the US is in up to the eyeballs.

As President, Bush should bear ultimate responsibility for the failure of Iraq, but he wasn’t the one setting the strategy or calling the shots on the ground.

]]> By: Michael Reynolds http://donklephant.com/2006/07/28/wise-old-toddlers/comment-page-1/#comment-57531 Michael Reynolds Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:40:40 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=2480#comment-57531 Hmmm. Super glue? Hmmm. Super glue?

]]> By: Joshua http://donklephant.com/2006/07/28/wise-old-toddlers/comment-page-1/#comment-57481 Joshua Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:00:08 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=2480#comment-57481 <i>[B]y refusing from the start to ever admit that anything was wrong, you ensured it never got fixed. And now that frog is dead.</i> Maybe that's not such a good analogy after all. How do you "fix" a decapitated frog? Other than that, great post. [B]y refusing from the start to ever admit that anything was wrong, you ensured it never got fixed. And now that frog is dead.

Maybe that’s not such a good analogy after all. How do you “fix” a decapitated frog?

Other than that, great post.

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