| Hard to imagine
Liberty News, Dec 24, 2003 In February, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz dismissed worries that the occupation [of Iraq] would require hundreds of thousands of troops. "It's hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself and secure the surrender of Saddam's security forces," he assured the House Budget Committee. "Hard to imagine." Wolfowitz didn't have to rely on his own underdeveloped imagination. He could have simply read the voluminous report prepared by 17 working groups organized by the State Department, which was delivered to the Pentagon before the war. Among other things, it warned of widespread looting and violence, predicted that key government buildings would be targets, and urged prompt military action "to prevent lawlessness." It may not surprise you to learn that the report, as a senior Pentagon official told The New York Times, "was mostly ignored." -----
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