As a professional, serving State Department Foreign Service Officer, I can say that this former British Ambassador to the US knows what he's talking about, unlike the 50 or so former UK ambassadors who signed that ridiculous letter last week.\
Lord Renwick makes a good point about the difference between the professional US military and some of the neocon ideologues at DOD who disbanded the Iraqi army and police without realizing the terrible consequences that would flow from that.
From the linked thread above (by Barbra Lerner):
None of this happened, however, because State and CIA fought against Rumsfeld's plans every step of the way.
If I understand you correctly the resistance against Rumsfeld's plans came from DOD not State. Would not Rumsfeld have been able to overturn any objections within his own department?
Or is the truth that there has been a fight over the correct policy to follow vis-a-vis the occupation of Iraq within the whole adminstration, and that State Dept has supported the "neo-cons" within DOD?
ScaniaBoy