Unfortunately, the Pentagon was forced to discard many of thee lessons during its preparations for invading Iraq. For example, the size of the US invasion force, we now know, was far smaller than military experts had recommended. In February 2003, before the war began, Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki told Congress that the occupation could require several hundred thousand troops, but the White House had already decided that a much smaller force was adequate. Rather than engaging in a reasoned debate on the question, they undercut Shinseki for disagreeing with their preconceived notion--even though he was an expert and they were not.
The other generals and admirals got the message and stopped expressing disagreement with the White House. Shinseki had been right, of course.
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The above quotations are from The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore.
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