It's becoming clearer and clearer that Donald Rumsfeld is a worse defense secretary than Robert McNamara. Why was there no post-invasion war-plan in Iraq? Because Rumsfeld forbade one, and threatened to fire anyone who devised one. Money quote from an eye-witness in the military:
Planning continued to be a challenge.
"The secretary of defense continued to push on us ... that everything we write in our plan has to be the idea that we are going to go in, we're going to take out the regime, and then we're going to leave," Scheid said. "We won't stay."
Scheid said the planners continued to try "to write what was called Phase 4," or the piece of the plan that included post-invasion operations like occupation.
Even if the troops didn't stay, "at least we have to plan for it," Scheid said.
"I remember the secretary of defense saying that he would fire the next person that said that," Scheid said. "We would not do planning for Phase 4 operations, which would require all those additional troops that people talk about today.
"He said we will not do that because the American public will not back us if they think we are going over there for a long war."
Unbelievable. Even more unbelievable is that this man is still secretary of defense. Even after the fiasco in Iraq; even after the torture policy; even after Abu Ghraib; even after a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and a civil war in Iraq. Democrats, Independents and sane Republicans who want to win the war against islamism should unite this fall in a single rallying cry: Fire Rumsfeld Now.
(Hat tip: Kevin Drum).