Gustave, in addition to X's response, I have to point out that "the Pentagon" is not monolithic or entirely dominated by the uniformed military. The civilian leadership of the DoD is appointed by the President, and under Rumsfeld was quite gung-ho about the Iraq operation. "Gung ho" might be an understatement, even, given Rummy's role in cooking it up. The uniformed military leadership was a lot more circumspect about the Iraq, but on the other hand they don't exactly control things. Constitutionally, they are under civilian leadership.
Badmouthing the US uniformed military leadership was, in fact, a notable element of the prewar propaganda campaign. See, for example, these reviews of "SUPREME COMMAND: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime" by one Eliot Cohen. query.nytimes.com
query.nytimes.com
From discussion at the time, I gathered that Cohen is a little more respectable that WSJ editorial page editor Max Boot, but Cohen also seems to be a charter member of PNAC, see newamericancentury.org . Everybody had their role in the prewar propaganda campaign. |
