Posted on 01/13/2004 4:27:26 PM PST by Pikamax
US Army Report Criticizes Handling of Fight Against Terror Alex Belida Pentagon 13 Jan 2004, 18:46 UTC
The Bush administration's handling of the global war on terrorism, including the decision to invade Iraq, is being criticized by an unexpected source: a study published by the U.S. Army's War College. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld routinely acknowledges the war on terrorism will be neither quick nor easy.
But Mr. Rumsfeld also asserts repeatedly that the United States will not back down from its commitment to fight that war, especially when it comes to the ongoing struggle with insurgents loyal to the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. "We will continue taking the battle to the terrorists. And as the president has said, the coalition will stay as long as it takes to finish the job, and leave only when the task is finished," he said.
But a newly-released report published by the U.S. Army War College has taken issue with the Bush Administration's decision to invade Iraq.
The 56-page study by defense expert Jeffrey Record calls the U.S. intervention in Iraq "an unnecessary preventative war of choice" that was "a detour" from the global war on terrorism.
It criticizes, as a "strategic error of the first order," the administration's linking of the al-Qaida terrorist organization and Saddam Hussein's Iraq as a single, undifferentiated terrorist threat.
The study is accompanied by a disclaimer stating its views are those of Mr. Record, a professor at the U.S. Air Force's War College, and not those of the Army or the Department of Defense.
But Douglas Lovelace, the director of the Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute that published the study, hails the analysis as what he calls "a contribution to the national security debate over the aims and course of the war on terrorism."
Nevertheless, at the Pentagon, senior officials do not appear to be pleased. Bryan Whitman, a top Defense Department spokesman, admits he has not seen the study but suggests its conclusions are irresponsible. "Any study that concludes that we should not aggressively pursue the global war on terror would be irresponsible. In fact, it is inconceivable to me that any responsible government would not do everything possible to protect its citizens," he said.
The study says the administration's identification of a multitude of enemies, including rogue states, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorist groups of global, regional and local scope, may have set the United States on a course of open-ended and gratuitous conflict with states and non-states that pose no serious threat.
Mr. Record, a former staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also asserts U.S. military involvement in Iraq has strained the armed forces. As he puts it, the war has saddled the armed forces with costly and open-ended imperial policing and nation building responsibilities outside the professional military's traditional mission portfolio.
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http://www.cistp.gatech.edu/cistp/people/record.html
Jeffrey Record, Senior Research Fellow As a Senior Research Fellow at CISTP and a Visiting Professor at the School of International Affairs, Dr. Record is pursuing a variety of research projects. His background includes work for both government and non-government research organizations. Dr. Record was awarded a Ph.D. in International Relations by Johns Hopkins University in 1973. He also holds an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins, as well as a B.A. in Political Science from Occidental College.
At the Brookings Institution's Defense Analysis Project from 1973 to 1976, Dr. Record conducted numerous studies and analyses of major defense issues. Some of his published studies included the following topics: U.S. theater nuclear weapons in Europe and the future of the U.S. Marine Corps.
As Legislative Assistant to Senator Sam Nunn from 1976 to 1980, Dr. Record researched a host of issues including the all-volunteer force, strategic airlift requirements, and NATO strategy and force posture.
At the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis from 1980 to 1987, Dr. Record performed studies on U.S. military strategy, U.S. militia reform, Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions in Europe (MBFR), strategic bomber requirements, strategic airlift requirements, and the Rapid Deployment Force.
At the Hudson Institute, major studies were conducted on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, US military effectiveness in the Persian Gulf and the future of US air power. At BDM International from 1990 to 1992 work was conducted on a variety of projects including theater ballistic missile defense requirements for NATO and US forces operating overseas. While at BDM, Dr. Record completed his book, Hollow Victory: A Contrary View of the Gulf War, published by Macmillan in 1993.
Dr. Record moved to the Senate Arms Services Committee (SASC) staff via the staff of Senator Lloyd Bentson and then Senator Bob Krueger. During his service on the SASC staff from July 1993 to March 1995, Dr. Record worked closely with other senior staffers in support of Chairman Sam Nunn on a variety of international political-military issues including Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, U.N. Peacekeeping Operations, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and NATO's future.
He is currently a Visiting Professor at the US Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Bush administration's handling of the global war on terrorism, including the decision to invade Iraq, is being criticized by an unexpected source: a study published by the U.S. Army's War College.
So sez Brit Hume's panel AND Donald Rumsfeld.
It gives all the Bush Haters on FR something to try to throw in our faces, so we spend all our time explaining to them that it's not the truth.
That didn't happen. This guy is channeling Terry McAuliffe.
You can say that again.
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