Damage from Ignored Intelligence
It is difficult to keep a secret from the people. There are simply too many people using too many computers and cell-phones and too many people looking for opportunities to swap a little information for a few dollars. Of course we know there are things which executives should keep secret for the good of the company or of the government. For this purpose we have the Classified Document system.
When the government classifies a document the reason should be to protect the interest of the nation, not to protect any individual or political party. Care must be exercised to preserve the idea that the government is established by the people and for the people to promote and protect the interests of all the people.
When President Bush was considering the invasion of Iraq it was his duty to gather all of the facts regarding the entire operation and discuss with his cabinet all of the ramifications, consequences and possible rewards associated with the venture.
The people were led into a state of confusion when the President gave incomplete [sometimes dishonest] reasons for embarking on his plan to attack Iraq. Instead of asking his associates for factual information about the situation in Iraq he asked them to find evidence to justify the attack to overthrow the government. Information in records now being declassified makes it clear that Mr. Bush and his associates chose to feed congress and the people information that supported his plan to attack, while withholding information indicating it would be bad policy to attack.
Trouble arose when people began to ask why we were having so much trouble managing the occupation of Iraq. People began asking why we didn’t anticipate the difficulty with the Insurgents and why the conflicts between the religious sects are making the operation of the new government so difficult. They also asked why the officials sent so few soldiers compared to the hundreds of thousands recommended by knowledgeable officials. Also questions were raised as to why personal and vehicle protective armor was not provided in advance to the frontline units.
Bits of data started creeping into the news some months ago. Emergence of previously classified information supplied in reports of the National Intelligence Council confirms the fact that prior to the invasion President Bush was informed that we could expect serious trouble from insurgents and competing religious sects in the occupation procedure. Yet, ignoring the reports, the President [Commander-in-Chief] sent the troops in without notice of these anticipated troubles and without a plan for handling them.
We have suffered thousands of casualties because of our failure to heed the advice of the Intelligence Council. Our troops have learned by bitter experience what they would have learned prior to the invasion if the president had not ignored the Intelligence Council’s reports. We are still in the process of learning how this neglect is hindering the organization and operation of the new government in Iraq. Further, the predicted activity and growth of the Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups has become evident along with the predicted growth of unrest among the populations of the other nations in the region.
President Bush says “we were warned about a lot of things, some of which happened, some of which didn’t happen.” Much earlier he said the pre-invasion intelligence he was furnished was flawed. Neither of these statements will relieve the hurt of the losses we have suffered. Neither will they mend the damage to our standing in the world community resulting from this lost war that should never have started.
Jerry Clements 5/26/07
When the government classifies a document the reason should be to protect the interest of the nation, not to protect any individual or political party. Care must be exercised to preserve the idea that the government is established by the people and for the people to promote and protect the interests of all the people.
When President Bush was considering the invasion of Iraq it was his duty to gather all of the facts regarding the entire operation and discuss with his cabinet all of the ramifications, consequences and possible rewards associated with the venture.
The people were led into a state of confusion when the President gave incomplete [sometimes dishonest] reasons for embarking on his plan to attack Iraq. Instead of asking his associates for factual information about the situation in Iraq he asked them to find evidence to justify the attack to overthrow the government. Information in records now being declassified makes it clear that Mr. Bush and his associates chose to feed congress and the people information that supported his plan to attack, while withholding information indicating it would be bad policy to attack.
Trouble arose when people began to ask why we were having so much trouble managing the occupation of Iraq. People began asking why we didn’t anticipate the difficulty with the Insurgents and why the conflicts between the religious sects are making the operation of the new government so difficult. They also asked why the officials sent so few soldiers compared to the hundreds of thousands recommended by knowledgeable officials. Also questions were raised as to why personal and vehicle protective armor was not provided in advance to the frontline units.
Bits of data started creeping into the news some months ago. Emergence of previously classified information supplied in reports of the National Intelligence Council confirms the fact that prior to the invasion President Bush was informed that we could expect serious trouble from insurgents and competing religious sects in the occupation procedure. Yet, ignoring the reports, the President [Commander-in-Chief] sent the troops in without notice of these anticipated troubles and without a plan for handling them.
We have suffered thousands of casualties because of our failure to heed the advice of the Intelligence Council. Our troops have learned by bitter experience what they would have learned prior to the invasion if the president had not ignored the Intelligence Council’s reports. We are still in the process of learning how this neglect is hindering the organization and operation of the new government in Iraq. Further, the predicted activity and growth of the Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups has become evident along with the predicted growth of unrest among the populations of the other nations in the region.
President Bush says “we were warned about a lot of things, some of which happened, some of which didn’t happen.” Much earlier he said the pre-invasion intelligence he was furnished was flawed. Neither of these statements will relieve the hurt of the losses we have suffered. Neither will they mend the damage to our standing in the world community resulting from this lost war that should never have started.
Jerry Clements 5/26/07
posted by Jeremiah | 10:34 AM
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