The “Americans made big mistakes in Iraq,” he said, including the rejection of its leaders hopes to form an interim Iraqi government immediately after the March 2003 invasion rather than occupying the country for more than a year.
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Correction: The Powell/Armitage/Bremer state dept made big mistakes in Iraq, including the rejection of its leaders hopes to form an interim Iraqi government immediately after the March 2003 invasion.
(You recall that DOD's Gen'l Garner came in and started talking with people with plans for a quick interim Government set up and led by Iraqis, and then Bremer came in, revamped the Iraqi governing council into a bigger and less effective advisory board; Bremer also madethe fateful disbanding the army decision, which made tens of thousands of baathist soldiers unemployed instead of on our side ... the rest is history.
Irony of ironies - IF RUMSFELD'S "LITE" STRATEGY WAS PURSUED, WE'D BE OUT OF THERE BY NOW.
Maybe you need to dedicate a vanity post to your ideas. I think it's warranted.