Posted on 11/08/2007 6:51:57 PM PST by RDTF
Condoleezza Rice is, by her own admission, not "that self-reflective." But in an interview in her office on Thursday the secretary of state took a moment to contemplate the improved security situation in Iraq.
Asked whether she and the Bush administration had made any mistakes early on "that you're perhaps trying to redeem yourself for," she responded with her trademark steely smile. "I'm sure there are lots of things we might have done better," she said. "I'll give you one with Iraq. If I had to do it all over again, we would have had the balance between center, local and provincial better. But that's the kind of thing you learn over time."
Rice has admitted on occasion that the U.S. government made "tactical" mistakes in Iraq, but rarely has she gone into specifics. Reminded that Mideast scholars had long advised that controlling Iraq would require winning over local, provincial and tribal authorities, Rice said, "I would like to go back and find out who gave that [advice] … Arab states can be very centralized.
-snip-
She said the creation of a democratic central government and "the transition to administrative law, I think, is going to be judged very well" over time. But, she added, "I think we didn't identify a lot of the kind of provincial and local leaders that might have been able to deliver services as well as politics on a more localized level early on."
Her comments appeared to be an implicit criticism of L. Paul Bremer III, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq until the end of June 2004.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
But the Dems excuse Clinton's bombing of an aspirin factory, and his little trist with Monica and a cigar. They forgive the illegal campaign contributions given to Gore and Hillary - after all, they can't be expected to know that the fund-raiser they went to is a fund-raiser. I could go on and on and on, but you get the idea.
Hypocrites.
The only thing the American Government needed to understand more was Islam. Namely that it is by no means a Religion of Peace, as George Bush stated, and it most definitely not compatible with democracy.
yep
I didnt go to school for decades to forget that Iraq is forever mired in Islam.
“If I had it to over again”
Would Bubba have used a Lewinsky cigar?
Would Bawney Fwank have done what Bawney does?
Would William Jefferson, Democrat, Louisiana have taken the bribes?
...
What is the purpose of these kinds of questions? One really can’t undo the past, unless you are a Dimocrat and you have lefties writing history books. Still, that’s not going to gain traction during your lifetime and we all know Dimocratz are only interested in immediate gratification.
What’s that ‘old saying’ ?
Something ‘bout all plans are B*S*t when the first shots are fired?! .... or somp’in’.
Of course “we know more now”.... that’s the way life & war is....
Dumb question asked and answered, eh?
:)
Comforting to those who have lost loved ones in a war that should never have been started. As Colin Powell stated the US was given deliberately false information on WMD.
“...and his little trist (sic) with Monica and a cigar.”
Sorry, but I’m having a hard time seeing what this has to do with Islam, terrorism or Iraq. Seems inconsequential by comparison.
I didn’t type that...
But that's no excuse for not having a plan...or contingency plans...or listening to a guy (Rumsfeld) who claims he knows more than those who have succeeded in anti-insurgency campaigns in the past (Brits).
No, someone in DoD should have been assigned the duty of reading a few books about the British experience in Iraq. That would have given them the basics. It may be that they assumed that Saddam had destroyed that tribal structure, although I don’t why they would. Apparently, all that happened was that the tribes followed the people into cities.
Quiet you! This whole thing will pay for itself I tells ya!
Well, that's not a surprise, because that's where most of the problems occurred. Except that Bremer, who ran CPA, was a State Dept man in Iraq (replacing retired General Jay Garner, who was originally selected by Rumsfeld), while at the time Condi was nowhere near State Dept - Colin Powell ran the show.
Don't see an "admission", except that's what media wants to make it look like. Now that things look good in Iraq, they are back to "Have you made any mistakes?" story line, to try and push "incompetence" angle.
I’m sure that FDR and Churchill, and Ike, Monty, Halsey and all other military leaders in WWII probably would have said the same thing, if asked.
That's an excellent observation...but you are too partisan in its interpretation. Leading a country is just as difficult and the party out of power is always too quick to criticize.
Yep! At the exact same time the kooks are voting on impeachment hearings. Everyone in the administration should simply say; If you cannot ask better question than "Have you made any mistakes?" then this interview is over. Have a nice day.
JMHO of course.
Not compatible with democracy and they will NEVER be our friends. They are conditioned from the cradle to look at ALL infidels as sub-human.
That means you and me.
Take Bush back to 2002, and tell him that he could avoid going into Iraq on the condition that he build a border fence, enforce immigration laws, and deport all illegals.
Bush would do all those things if he could avoid invading Iraq. That is how badly they regret going in.
Would love to see the expression on interviewer's face, because that would take him / her completely off the game plan. But of course, the real purpose is to ask questions that no one can really answer "No", so then one can print the "admission" and "incompetence" and "redemption" story... Sadly, that's what "Journalism 101" is now.
I guess, Condi could really complain about the "gotcha" questions, but she has too much class for that, and she handled this pretty well, by hinting to some actual problems (Bremer's command of CPA) that happened in Iraq, though she had nothing to do with them.
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