RUMSFELD UNDER FIRE(Wesley Clark has accused Rumsfeld of putting troops at risk )

SKY NEWS ^ | 03/26/2003 | SKYNEWS

[KQQL]

The former supreme allied commander of Nato has accused US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of putting allied troops at risk through poor planning.

Wesley Clark said Mr Rumsfeld's insistence on a smaller invasion force had left troops vulnerable and the 300-mile oil supply line between Kuwait and Basra open to guerilla attack.

Troops had been tied up in "messy fighting" around Nasiriyah and Baghdad, he said, leading to "logistics problems".

He added that hopes of a quick victory spurred by a popular revolt against Saddam had been dashed.

"The simple fact is that the liberation didn't quite occur. They didn't rise up."

Other war veterans have also spoken out against the early stages of war planning.

Miscalculations

Ralph Peters, a military scientist and former Army officer, wrote in the Washington Post that a coalition victory would be achieved "despite serious strategic miscalculations by the office of the Defence Secretary".

The "shock and awe" strategy of aerial bombardment had failed to shatter the will of Saddam's regime, he said, and if anything had encouraged greater resistance.

"It delayed essential attacks on Iraq's military capabilities," said Mr Peters. "This encouraged at least some Iraqis in uniform to believe they had a chance to fight and win.

"Now our forces advancing on Baghdad face the possibility of more serious combat than would otherwise have been the case."

Coalition commander General Tommy Franks's draft invasion plan proposed using four or five heavy divisions moving slowly towards Baghdad.

New warfare

Mr Rumsfeld is said to have rejected this, complaining that it was too similar to the strategy used in the 1991 Gulf War. Instead he insisted on a smaller, lighter force relying heavily on special forces and air power.

Retired US Army General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the 24th Infantry Division 12 years ago, said Mr Rumsfeld had ignored warnings that he was underestimating the number of troops needed.

"I think he thought these were generals with feet planted in World War Two who didn't understand the new way of warfare," he said.

"If the Iraqis actually fight it's going to be brutal, dangerous work and we could take a couple to 3,000 casualties."

Mr Rumsfeld insisted his strategy was working.

"It's a good plan everybody agrees to, and it is a plan that in four and a half or five days has moved ground forces to within a short distance of Baghdad."

[KQQL]

War Could Last Months, Officers Say



(IS this MORE WP CRAP ?????????????)


By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 27, 2003; Page A01


Despite the rapid advance of Army and Marine forces across Iraq over the past week, some senior U.S. military officers are now convinced that the war is likely to last months and will require considerably more combat power than is now on hand there and in Kuwait, senior defense officials said yesterday.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29480-2003Mar25.html

[LenS]

Oohh, still upset that Serbia got beat by idiots like Clark?

[bravo whiskey]

have to wonder how any general who is supposed to care for the welfare of his troops can be a member of the demorats party.

[river rat]

Wesley Clark is the poster child for the "Perfumed Princes" that accumulated in the Pentagon during the Clinton years..

He is/was NOT a warrior.
He is/was NOT a respected General...
He is a POLITICIAN.....He has already put out feelers as a candidate for President....
Most of his peers wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire.... On second thought, perhaps they would use the opportunity to do just that...

His one and only responsibility of distinction - was as NATO commander in the bombardment and destruction of Yugoslavia to remove ONE MAN.....

Just think about it....
Look at the two "Generals" with the most face time on CNN....
That ought to tell you something about this certifiable asshole.

Semper Fi

[KQQL]

This was started by ..............what's his name on MSNBC.........................Bubba's Durg cZar///////

[PhiKapMom]

You can take it the bank that Bubba is behind this and more when it concerns Iraq and this Administration. Anyone that is a friend of Clinton's is no friend of the United States even when they give the pretense of being a friend. I don't trust anyone that called Bill Clinton "friend!"

[lavrenti]

Oh yeah, brave Wesley Clark.

How many civilians were killed in his little war?

I think the kill ratio was 1 Serb tank to every 900 Serb civilians.

Doesn't matter. This is a total victory in real time. Too bad you fast forward a Blitzkrieg.

[chachacha]

Liberal sluts like Wesley Clark is exactly what has been wrong with this country for the last 50 years.

Because of the likes of him, Dashole, Clinton's, and many more is why terror is now a way of life in the USA.

[HardStarboard]

I posted this earlier on another thread when little Gen. Wesley's name came up. Anybody else remember this incident?

Gen Wesley Clark is the one that paused his column going into Pristina airfield in Kosovo for 3 hours so that the TV crews could catch up and record his triumphal arrival. The Russkis, those clever bastards, put a General in charge of their troops that didn't think becoming a TV star took precidence over caprturing the airfield.

The Russians got there first! It took several months of diplomacy to straighten out little Wesley's SNAFU.

This guy is a major "symbolism over substance" Clinton appointee. He's a lightweight, and dangerous. Our troops slugging it out in Iraq are damned lucky he is no where near their battles.

[KQQL]

This was started by ..............what's his name on MSNBC.........................Bubba's Durg cZar///////(Retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey)

[ambrose]

Remember all the reporting about the War in Afghanistan? The Chicken Littles were out in full force back then as well.

[madison46]

Hell, I could do better than Clark and darn sure glad he's not running things...and I DO NOT AGREE WITH HIM

..but, I remember reading that Rummy was upset that war plans were not innovative enough. Rummy probably muddled things up, but com'on, 250 miles and 25 KIA's to their thousands of dead. We're outside Baghdad...as one 3rd ID said, were a gas tank from there...and Turkey played a big role in our problems. All this will be corrected with the 4th showing up and constant bombardment of RG.

I think Clark, when it is all said and done, will be shown up.

[info_scout]

DEBACLE.

[AaronInCarolina]

Wesley "The Slime" Clark is Clinton's Slut, bought and paid for.

As is General McCaffrey, who served a Clinton's drug czar. Just accept it. All of the nay-saying of the so-called expert analysts really just boils down to one thing... whether they voted for Bush or whether they voted for Gore. It's that simple. This truism is also valid in all of anti-war demonstrations. I wager you'd likely never find one of the demonstrators who didn't vote for Gore or someone even further left. We just have to hang in there and bear the naked politics, and we will be proven right in the end.

[KQQL]

BUt Retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey started this UPRISE AGAINST Rummy....and Clark piled on..

[griffin]

Who is Wesley Clark?

I haven't heard of him.

I'll have to look him up. ;)

[over3Owithabrain]

FWIW, McInerney on Fox tonight thinks Ricks is full of it. He thinks once we stomp out the RG in the next few days or week, it's a stroll into Baghdad.

[dalebert]

I heard Clark refer to CNN as "our network" the other night. Not very objective. He is just another puppet for the Clintons. I am tired of all the armchair generals.

[what's up]

Clark planning to run on military platform.

He might be the Dems' best hope if the war continues; however, I can't stand him.