Colonel Daniel Smith, USA (Ret.)

First: The “Who.” Initially seven, then 28, were charged or under investigation. Now at least two more may be charged and as many as 53 have been implicated. An additional five have been singled out by name as bearing responsibility. More may eventually be charged or be in some way held responsible. Second: The “What.” … Continue reading “Ripples From the Schlesinger Report”

Emulating the popular game show Jeopardy!, if the answer is “Iraq,” can you formulate the question? Consider the following: Ambassador L. Paul Bremer left behind 97 edicts telling the interim government and the Iraqi people everything from how to drive their autos and mandatory minimum sentences for carrying grenades and other weapons to electoral and … Continue reading “Let’s Play ‘Sovereignty’!”

Media attention in late June focused on the European Union summit in Ireland, the NATO summit in Turkey, and the surprise early transfer of “sovereignty” to the Iraqi interim government. As noteworthy as each of these might have been, equally significant events were occurring or being planned in East Asia, ones that, in an interdependent … Continue reading “The Butterfly Effect, From Iraq to Asia”

The cliché about bad news – “it never rains but it pours” – was in full view the week of June 20. And the forecast is for more of the same for the foreseeable future. The proverbial torrents in question were the documents and statistics made public by the Bush administration as it tried to … Continue reading “A Deluge of Bad Advice and Statistics”

Throughout the six hours of testimony on Abu Ghraib by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld et al. before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on May 7, a recurring question was why the various command levels seemed to be in a “business as usual” mode given the explosive nature of the investigation on prisoner … Continue reading “The Defense of ‘Command Influence’”