Posted on 10/25/2004 6:21:44 AM PDT by OESY
Michael DeLong's memoir of his three years as deputy commander of Central Command (CentCom) is fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating, because CentCom ran the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns, putting DeLong in the thick of events. Frustrating, because this memoir is too brief.
Unlike Bob Woodward, who fires vast, ill-focused barrages, DeLong writes briskly and pointedly.
DeLong firmly rejects that the Iraq war jeopardized the War on Terror. No resources were taken away from counterterrorism. Indeed, the United States began a major operation in Afghanistan on the same day it launched the liberation of Iraq. DeLong's argument is all the more compelling because of his hard work forming the Afghanistan and Iraq coalitions.
There was never a dull moment working for CentCom commander Gen. Tommy Franks. While his Marine predecessor, Gen. Tony Zinni, was a charmer but a lone decision-maker (and wrote the introduction to this book), Franks was a solitary character. Though slow to trust others, Franks was able to delegate, encourage teamwork and share decision-making.
DeLong offers interesting, if understated, revelations. He denies Woodward's claim that Franks was taken aback when asked about Iraq war plans in late 2001. DeLong argues that CentCom had long viewed Saddam as a threat. The Iraq plan, an outdated defensive scheme, was updated....
DeLong has no patience for those who second-guess the conduct of the war. He briefly discusses intelligence problems, arguing that many reports are uselessly vague. DeLong laments that there will always be somebody — he names former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke — who will claim after the fact that intelligence was overlooked....
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Andrew Apostolou is director of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
I've read the book. Short and easy reading. He clarifies whys and wherefores of Tora Bora. He states the missing WMDs went into Syria. That's my personal fear. No one talks about the missing WMDs. We know that there is an unaccouinted for delta. Where is it?
Delong's is certainly an informed opinion.
With as large a quantity of chemical and biological weapons as Saddam admitted to having, and with no record of their destruction, it is pretty obvious they are somewhere.
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