Massacre in Haditha: Eight Marines Charged With Killing 24 Iraqis

[DanaC]

The problem of comparing, what was done vs the result, to what could have been done is that result of the second is speculation

Perhaps a little speculation and, dare I say it, foresight, might have prevented rather a lot of bloodshed.....oh sorry, there was speculation and an attempt at foresight, but it was ignored by the American and allied governments in their headlong rush into a 'desirable' war.

How many people predicted exactly this? How many intelligence and military experts argued that this was a mistake? How much intelligence was found to have been erroneous, and worse still, known to be erroneous?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Actually quite a few, but they were shouted down. No, not shouted down. Pressured down? Threatened down? Squashed.

[tw]

Originally Posted by DanaC

How many people predicted exactly this? How many intelligence and military experts argued that this was a mistake?

Many. From my experience, the numbers probably are most. But remember, these guys are not allowed to talk publicly. My 2002 opposition to "Mission Accomplished" did not come from speculation.

How much intelligence was found to have been erroneous, and worse still, known to be erroneous?

All intelligence is erroneous if it cannot be placed into perspective. Cheney is so mistrustful of intelligence analysts that he reads only raw intelligence. IOW he finds what he wants to find because intelligence MUST be put into perspective.

To blame the intelligence as erroneous are how those without perspective now blame others. The intelligence was correct. People such as Chalabi were known to be scam artists. Curveball was the ONLY source for Iraq's mobile biological labs, was never interviewed by any Americans, and was a known alcoholic. As David Kay noted after reading the massive file on aluminum tubes, his own comment was, "Is that all there is?"

The intelligence was correct. But the administration read it for a political agenda rather than to be a patriotic American.

There was very good reason why my 2002 opposition to "Mission Accomplished" was so adamant and so accurate. Even the intelligence did not say Saddam had WMDs. Many (and rightly so) suspected he might. But not one intelligence source could define a single WMD after 1996 - for obvious reasons. They did not exist.

Next, you should be answering why those administration people had a political agenda. The answer has been provided often, but somehow I suspect many never grasped the significance.