Posted on 04/09/2006 1:16:00 PM PDT by jmc1969
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday said the United States has made "serious mistakes" during the Iraq war that have led to the rising violence the country now faces.
"We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad," Powell told a crowd of thousands at the McCormick Place conference. "We didn't have enough troops on the ground. We didn't impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and . . . it got out of control."
Now, American troops must "stick with the people of Iraq" until order is restored, he said.
Powell, a retired four-star general, served as secretary of state under Bush from 2001 until 2005.
His remarks came a day after suicide bombers hit a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killing more than 80.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
Everybody has a plan till the 1st punch is thrown.
At least he's not saying it was a mistake to disband the Iraqi army like some numbskulls.
Colin Powell only cares about himself and his image in the press.
He wants to appear so wise.
Memo
To: General Colin Powell (USA, Retired)
From: President George W. Bush (you remember me don't cha?)
Let this serve as notice that you are now returned to active duty, your smart ass is assigned to Baghdad, now go over there and fix all these problems you keep seeing, ok?
Enjoy your flight General, and stay in touch!
Regards,
George
The mistake was getting rid of Jay Garner and putting Bremer in charge.
Oh, fer cryin' out loud!!! I'm sick of this mea culpa crapola!! It's WAR, for God's sake!! EVERY war doesn't go exactly according to plan. All of the breast beaters need to get over it and accept that errors happen in war and move on.
Captain Obvious!
What did he do/didn't do?
Hey Powell the army knows how to break things. Fixing them is above their pay grade.
Both Perleman and Wolfowitz are out of the positions they had when we went to war with Iraq.
Ie, fired.
But General, the imposition of American will is no way to "win hearts and minds."
....although it is the only way to win.
is he manifesting presidential aspirations?
"One of those mistakes was having Powell on board."
I was about to say the same thing...
The U.S. made "serious mistakes" in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam and the first Persian Gulf War. So what's your point Colin? Whining and crying that it's too tough to do never makes things any better. You play the cards you're dealt and you deal with it. Americans never used to give up until the drug-induced 60s happened. It was the boomer babies who decided that nothing was worth sweat, pain and blood. If it can't be done quickly with as little pain as possible, the boomer babies will tell you that it isn't worth doing.
Yep, they're warriors, not policemen or social workers.
"We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad,"
Bush is reelected without Powell. So who is "we"?
That was Powell's responsibility and he blew it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.