Bush’s Latest Critic: The Pentagon…Again.

A second report by a key Pentagon advisory group has blamed the Bush administration for the pre-war planning failures in the invasion of Iraq. The Defense Science Board has released a 220 page report, entitled “Transition To And From Hostilities” which criticized top administration officials for underestimating the number of troops needed to stabilize Iraq. The report states that ”(W)e believe that more people are needed in-theater for stabilization and reconstruction operations than for combat operations.” The report based its conclusion on US military interventions over the years, and concluded that in “disordered societies, with ambitious goals involving lasting cultural change, may require 20 troops per 1000 indigenous people.” Our current levels in Iraq is 150,000 troops, only 6 per 1000 Iraqis. The number of troops required for such a stabilization would be roughly 500,000 troops.