White-Rumsfeld Debate, Round 2

[kskiska]

Ex-Army Secretary Fires Back on Iraq

(snip)

To some extent, White is picking up where he left off with Rumsfeld. In a very public dispute several weeks before the war, White sided with Army Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki, warning that several hundred thousand troops would be needed to stabilize Iraq after hostilities ended. Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz rejected that estimate as grossly exaggerated, insisting stability could be quickly established and U.S. forces rapidly reduced.

Wolfowitz chided White in private afterward. Wolfowitz "was not happy that we had taken a position that was opposed to what his thinking on the subject was," White recalled in an interview. "He couldn't imagine a situation where the size of the force necessary to secure the peace would be larger than the force necessary to fight the war. But in hindsight, which is always 20/20, that ended up to be precisely the case."

Another senior defense official with direct knowledge of the conversation between the two men said the Pentagon's estimated postwar requirement had come from the top U.S. commander in the region, Gen. Tommy R. Franks, and Wolfowitz told White it was not appropriate for a military service chief to be publicly contradicting the commander.

White agreed and said he would talk to Shinseki, this official said. As for events since, the official noted, the numbers of U.S. and total coalition troops have declined as the level of reconstituted Iraqi forces has risen.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31788-2003Sep18.html

[thebigidea]

1. muy interesante

although White is a sleazy Enron slug, I'm amused to see him squealing. Thought he'd go quietly into pockets-lining mode...

I vaguely remember calling CPSAN last year and saying White had the "stench of death about him" and something about Rummy giving him a Moe Howard eyepoke.

[Evanstondem]

3. Having Enron on your resume

Could make it hard to get a regular job. It's probably easier for him to make some money with a quick book.

[sistersofmercy]

2. Bye Bye, Rummy et Wolfowitzless, they're next after Cheney!