Bremer turning on Shrub??? Rats leaving a sinking ship??

[Rosco T.]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6180514/

Bremer criticizes troop levels in Iraq

Ex-administrator says planning failure created 'atmosphere of lawlessness'

WASHINGTON - The former U.S. official who governed Iraq after the invasion said yesterday that the United States made two major mistakes: not deploying enough troops in Iraq and then not containing the violence and looting immediately after the ouster of Saddam Hussein

(snip)

"We paid a big price for not stopping it because it established an atmosphere of lawlessness," he said yesterday in a speech at an insurance conference in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. "We never had enough troops on the ground."

Echoes of Kerry's criticism

Bremer's comments were striking because they echoed contentions of many administration critics, including Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry, who argue that the U.S. government failed to plan adequately to maintain security in Iraq after the invasion. Bremer has generally defended the U.S. approach in Iraq but in recent weeks has begun to criticize the administration for tactical and policy shortfalls.

In a Sept. 17 speech at DePauw University, Bremer said he had frequently raised the problem within the administration and "should have been even more insistent" when his advice was spurned because the situation in Iraq might be different today. "The single most important change — the one thing that would have improved the situation — would have been having more troops in Iraq at the beginning and throughout" the occupation, Bremer said, according to the Banner-Graphic in Greencastle, Ind. A Bremer aide said that his speeches were intended for private audiences and were supposed to have been off the record. Yesterday, however, excerpts of his remarks — given at the Greenbrier resort at an annual meeting sponsored by the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers — were distributed in a news release by the conference organizers.

[high density]

1. I'd say probably not

Bremer is a neocon of the biggest kind.

[mikehiggins]

2. Do you see what we are dealing with?

This scumbag tells a private group--for CA$H and "off the record" that BushCo screwups contributed mightily to what is now costing us the lives of our soldiers, and billions of our tax dollars.

Why isn't he screaming this from the rooftops instead of making speeches for buck$ that are "supposed to have been off the record"?

This isn't politics; this is actual evil in the world.

You can't demonize people like this without being unfair to demons.

[Zero Gravitas]

3. CYA

HE doesn't want to go down in History as the guy who lost Iraq.

[Roland99]

5. Didn't he let the Fedayeen go home with their guns??

[pacalo]

9. That's my take, as well. He sees the handwriting on the wall.

[gavodotcom]

11. Yep, definitely. Rumsfeld recently, Powell, McCain (ass), CYA time. EOM

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

4. if they get enough repugs to speak out like this...

then W can cut and run before the election and claim it is what he wanted to do all along!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. Has Bremer gone back to work for Henry Kissinger?

He was the Managing Director of Kissinger & Associates for 11 years before becoming the Caliph of Baghdad.

[Erika]

7. The Bushies Are All Deserting Ship

They screwed their country, got the money, and now are running like hell from the Bush Administration.

[readmylips]

8. The guy is covering his a$$...still supporting bush...

Bremer is saying exactly what Kerry has been saying, and what we all know, there was no exit strategy. Worse, bush/cheney/rumsfelt did not listen to all the Military experts, except for that spook Myers.

I hope John Kerry is reading this article and uses it as fire power.

What a bunch of bastards.

[Erika]

10. So true

Bush ------ this country. Now if people will just have the guts to stand up and realize it.

[Supersedeas]

12. Even Bush officials are echoing Kerry criticisms-JK has his facts in order

[tanyev]

13. Uh, Mr. Bremer,

If you don't want your remarks made public, don't give a speech.

:eyes:

[yellowcanine]

14. More a case of slipping up and telling the truth, imo. It is HARD WORK

keeping up with all of the lies.

[UTUSN]

15. It's Jerry vs the NeoCons for POWELL's Job (Salon)

*******QUOTE*******

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7053-2004Oct4.html

Bremer Criticizes Troop Levels

Ex-Overseer of Iraq Says U.S. Effort Was Hampered Early On

By Robin Wright and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 5, 2004; Page A01


The former U.S. official who governed Iraq after the invasion said yesterday that the United States made two major mistakes: not deploying enough troops in Iraq and then not containing the violence and looting immediately after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. ....

..."We never had enough troops on the ground."

Bremer's comments were striking because they echoed contentions of many administration critics, including Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry, who argue that the U.S. government failed to plan adequately to maintain security in Iraq after the invasion. Bremer has generally defended the U.S. approach in Iraq but in recent weeks has begun to criticize the administration for tactical and policy shortfalls.

In a Sept. 17 speech at DePauw University, Bremer said he frequently raised the issue within the administration and "should have been even more insistent" when his advice was spurned because the situation in Iraq might be different today. ....

Bremer also said he believes winning the war in Iraq is an "integral part of fighting this war on terror." He added that he "strongly supports" President Bush's reelection. ....

The State Department's extreme makeover
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/10/04/foggybo...

"Powell's early 2005 departure is the subject of intense jockeying among the neocons. A Perle neocon protégé, Michael Rubin, has been given the task of destroying the only competition -- L. Paul "Jerry" Bremer, the former Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority chief, not a neocon insider and the favorite of traditional Republican conservatives. The neocon plan is to make Bremer the scapegoat: It was not bad neocon policy, it was bad Bremer decisions that has led to the fiasco in Iraq. Rubin was sent to Baghdad to be Wolfowitz's man inside the CPA. Bremer dissed Rubin as a lightweight. Rubin tried to push neocon policy inside the CPA -- what he, Perle and Ahmed Chalabi had pushed from the American Enterprise Institute -- restoring the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq by placing Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan on the throne. Bremer would have none of it. Rubin is now tasked by Perle and Wolfowitz to trash Bremer -- which he is dutifully doing in print and media appearances arranged by neocon handler, lecture agent and media booker Eleana Benador. They intend to close the Foggy Bottom door to any aspirations Bremer, a former Foreign Service officer and Kissinger protégé, might have to take over from Powell."

********UNQUOTE*******