My Pentagon sources confirm this rant.
Study Published by Army Criticizes War on Terror's Scope
By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
A scathing new report published by the Army War College
broadly criticizes the Bush administration's handling
of the war on terrorism, accusing it of taking a detour
into an "unnecessary" war in Iraq and pursuing an
"unrealistic" quest against terrorism that may lead to
U.S. wars with states that pose no serious threat.
The report, by Jeffrey Record, a visiting professor at
the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama,
warns that as a result of those mistakes, the Army is
"near the breaking point." It recommends, among other
things, scaling back the scope of the "global war on
terrorism" and instead focusing on the narrower threat
posed by the al Qaeda terrorist network.
"[T]he global war on terrorism as currently defined and
waged is dangerously indiscriminate and ambitious, and
accordingly . . . its parameters should be readjusted,"
Record writes. Currently, he adds, the anti-terrorism
campaign "is strategically unfocused, promises more than
it can deliver, and threatens to dissipate U.S. military
resources in an endless and hopeless search for
absolute security."
Record, a veteran defense specialist and author of six
books on military strategy and related issues, was an
aide to then-Sen. Sam Nunn when the Georgia Democrat was
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In discussing his political background, Record also noted
that in 1999 while on the staff of the Air War College,
he published work critical of the Clinton administration.
His essay, published by the Army War College's Strategic
Studies Institute, carries the standard disclaimer that
its views are those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Army, the Pentagon or the
U.S. government.
But retired Army Col. Douglas C. Lovelace Jr., director
of the Strategic Studies Institute, whose Web site
<http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ssi/pubs/2003/bounding/bounding.htm>
carries Record's 56-page monograph, hardly distanced
himself from it. "I think that the substance that Jeff
brings out in the article really, really needs to be
considered," he said.
Publication of the essay was approved by the Army War
College's commandant, Maj. Gen. David H. Huntoon Jr.,
Lovelace said. He said he and Huntoon expected the study
to be controversial, but added, "He considers it to be
under the umbrella of academic freedom."
Larry DiRita, the top Pentagon spokesman, said he had not
read the Record study. He added: "If the conclusion is
that we need to be scaling back in the global war on
terrorism, it's not likely to be on my reading list
anytime soon."
Many of Record's arguments, such as the contention that
Saddam Hussein's Iraq was deterred and did not present
a threat, have been made by critics of the administration.
Iraq, he concludes, "was a war-of-choice distraction from
the war of necessity against al Qaeda." But it is unusual
to have such views published by the War College, the
Army's premier academic institution.
In addition, the essay goes further than many critics in
examining the Bush administration's handling of the war
on terrorism.
Record's core criticism is that the administration is
biting off more than it can chew. He likens the scale
of U.S. ambitions in the war on terrorism to Adolf Hitler's
overreach in World War II. "A cardinal rule of strategy is
to keep your enemies to a manageable number," he writes.
"The Germans were defeated in two world wars . . . because
their strategic ends outran their available means."
He also scoffs at the administration's policy, laid
out by Bush in a November speech, of seeking to transform
and democratize the Middle East. "The potential policy
payoff of a democratic and prosperous Middle East, if there
is one, almost certainly lies in the very distant future,"
he writes. "The basis on which this democratic domino
theory rests has never been explicated."
He also casts doubt on whether the U.S. government will
maintain its commitment to the war. "The political,
fiscal, and military sustainability of the GWOT [global
war on terrorism] remains to be seen," he states.
The essay concludes with several recommendations.
Some are fairly noncontroversial, such as increasing the
size of the Army and Marine Corps, a position that appears
to be gathering support in Congress. But he also says the
United States should scale back its ambitions in Iraq,
and be prepared to settle for a "friendly autocracy"
there rather than a genuine democracy.
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ssi/pubs/2003/bounding/bounding.htm
Welcome to Maxwell Air Force Base, the home of Air University.
Air University plays a vital role in fulfilling the mission of the
United States Air Force. Service members must place the nation's
defense above self and possess an in-depth knowledge of war
and the military sciences to meet national security challenges in
today's world. http://www.au.af.mil/
HAPPY:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
National Historic Site
(National Park Service)
http://www.nps.gov/malu/
remembering ...
AFRICAN AMERICAN HOLOCAUST
by Milford F. Plaines
http://www.maafa.org/
"Warning: The Following Pages
Contain Explicitly Graphic Material !!!"
http://www.maafa.org/warning.html
"The events which transpired five thousand years ago;
Five years ago or five minutes ago, have determined
what will happen five minutes from now; five years
From now or five thousand years from now.
All history is a current event."
- Dr John Henrik Clarke -
http://www.maafa.org/jhclarke.html
"The AFRICAN AMERICAN HOLOCAUST : is an ongoing
project to educate and stimulate the thought
process of individuals. It is my hope that
this will serve as a reminder to all of
humanity that race hatred is a CURSE
to all Mankind !!!" -Milford F. Plaines
http://www.maafa.org/credits.html
Meanwhile...
Dr. Danielle D. Carr [Mathematician]
Major Scientific Interest
The application of differential equations to develop
and analyze mathematical models for two different
areas of research. The first area is the transport
of fat cells and proteins from the cell body inside
the axon of the nerve cell. This area is called
axonal transport. The second area is the computational
modeling of objects moving in a fluid, such as fish
moving in water. This area is called computational
fluid dynamics.
http://www.csy.com/DrDanielleCarr.htm
Dr. William M. Jackson [Astrochemist]
"People helped me to become a
Scientist and overcome obstacles in
my way. You can find people like that
to help you become a scientist"
-Dr. William M. Jackson
http://www.csy.com/DrWilliamJackson.htm
Dr. Anthony M. Johnson [Physicist]
"There is a scientist in all of us.
With dedication and hard work,
we all have the ability to become
scientists. We already think like
scientists and are curious about
how things work. We can be
anything we want!"
-Anthony M. Johnson, Ph.D.
http://www.csy.com/DrAnthonyJohnson.htm
Dr. Eloy Rodriguez [Plant Biochemist & Toxicologist]
"Science is a big puzzle. Putting it together is the
ability to say, I have discovered something
nobody has discovered before. There are many
questions still to be answered, many things yet to
be discovered. We can all be scientists!"
-Eloy Rodriguez, Ph.D
http://www.csy.com/DrEloyRodriguez.htm
Dr. Denise Stephenson-Hawk [Atmospheric Scientist]
"We may not be good at science today, but
through hard work we can all become scientists.
We can become whomever we want as long as
we do not give up, believe in ourselves, and work
toward our goals."
-Denise Stephenson-Hawk, Ph.D
http://www.csy.com/DrDeniseSHawk.htm
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON [Astrophysicist]
The Frederick P. Rose Director,
Hayden Planetarium
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/
Department of Astrophysics
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, New York 10024
http://research.amnh.org/users/tyson/
Dr. Lisa D. White [Micropaleontologist]
"We need to believe in ourselves and this
takes time. If we know in our hearts that we
love science, love dinosaurs and fossils, and
are curious, about what happened on the
Earth sixty million years ago, then we
shouldn't let anyone stop us from pursuing
our goals."
-Lisa D. White, Ph.D.
http://www.csy.com/DrLisaWhite.htm
Etc...
The Afro American Newspapers
http://www.afro.com/frontpage.htm
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM IS LOCATED AT:
http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org
"Africa's Woes at the Turn of the Century"
http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=61&language_id=1
THE AFRICAN HOLOCAUST- WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FORGET
by OmiSaide Ali
Omo Yemoja, Apetebi Ifa
http://www.cultural-expressions.com/thesis/saide.htm
Appointed Jan. 2001 (Bush II Administration).,
Council on Foreign Relations member Colin L. Powell
"America stands ready to help
any country that wishes to join the
democratic world."
http://www.state.gov/secretary/
African-American Astronauts
http://observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/ootw/1998/ootw_980211/ob980211.html
Columbia Shuttle Memorial Trust
http://www.columbia7trust.org/news.cfm
MICHAEL P. ANDERSON (LIEUTENANT COLONEL, USAF)
NASA ASTRONAUT STS-107 Columbia
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/anderson.html
Upcoming Planetary Events and Missions
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/upcoming.html