Warnings unheeded Bush administration ignored valuable insight on Iraq

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

Last fall, when Zinni was issuing his warning, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pointedly disagreed with the now-retired Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki, who had told Congress that several hundred thousand U.S. troops would be needed to secure Iraq after a war. Shinseki also said a war could come with a big price tag.

Now, Iraq teeters on the brink of civil war as 146,000 U.S. troops attempt to maintain civil stability while coming under daily guerrilla attacks that are taking a bloody toll and eroding the American public's support for the war.

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The U.S. faces a dilemma: There aren't enough troops in Iraq; yet, as Sen. John McCain said, sending another 20,000 would give guerrillas more targets.

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...it's not too late for the president to stop relying on the bad advice of Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, and to start seeking other opinions.




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