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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (78476)	2/28/2003 7:26:16 PM
From: Rascal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

"Mr. Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, opened a two-front war of words on Capitol Hill, calling the recent estimate by Gen. Eric K. Shinseki of the Army that several hundred thousand troops would be needed in postwar Iraq, "wildly off the mark." Pentagon officials have put the figure closer to 100,000 troops. Mr. Wolfowitz then dismissed articles in several newspapers this week asserting that Pentagon budget specialists put the cost of war and reconstruction at $60 billion to $95 billion in this fiscal year. He said it was impossible to predict accurately a war's duration, its destruction and the extent of rebuilding afterward." This adds to my dismay over this Administrations incompetence. Can you imagine this being tolerated in any other Administration? These guys couldn't run a Pizza Parlor. And it's sad that they are not even embarassed. The Bush Administration can't get the budget or economy right and now their Military estimations belong in the toilet too. How anyone can have faith in any of their plans amuses me. I heard General Shinseki is due to retire next year and they want him to go now. They think he gave a high-ball estimate to make Rumsfeld look bad. (Paranoia) General Shinseki might run for Senator from Hawaii when Inoyue steps down. They are really circling the wagons into an ever smaller circle. Maybe they will tie themselves in a knot. Rascal@ checkthedebitsandcredits.com

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (78476)	2/28/2003 7:31:07 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

A couple of interesting things going on: 1. There seem to be a not-small group of people in our Intelligence services and armed forces, who disagree with the Pentagon/White House agenda. Saddam Hussain watches CNN, and so do his generals. Wonder what they think, when they hear American decision-makers taking pot shots at each other very publicly. 2. We've got out of the habit of officially declaring wars. Now, it seems, Congress isn't even going to be told what's going on. The people who wrote the Constitution explicitly said it was Congress, not the President, who decided whether we go to war. They wanted to ensure any war had a broad base of support, and war couldn't be declared by one man. They knew this meant a public debate, and delay, and spreading information (the information needed to make an informed decision) beyond the White House and military. That's the way they wanted it. But, the way we've done it since WW2, it's the President's war. Yes, Congress could stop the President, but in practice, Congress lets the President make the decision, and take responsibility. Without responsibility, Congress can snipe from the sidelines, and pretend later that they were against the war all along, if things go bad.