Iraq Invasion’s Key Figures Discuss Military Failures
The 20th anniversary of the Iraq war was marked by a panel at the Emma Sky American Enterprise Institute think tank, where two retired generals spoke about their role in planning and executing the invasion. Former US Deputy Commander of Land Forces Keane revealed that in December 2001, Chief of General Staff General Dick Myers declared war on Iraq without consulting any of the force commanders. The retired general stated that the weakest link in their plan was not calculating the possibility of Saddam Hussein resisting the invasion. After the regime was overthrown, Keane revealed that the decision to give the security command to the newly built Iraqi army was taken too early, leading to a rise in insurgents‘ direct attacks. In 2005, Keane and other military officials convinced then-US President George W. Bush to change strategy, giving Petraeus the command in Iraq. Petraeus stated that the disintegration of institutions and dismissing soldiers was a mistake, and they could not accurately understand the sociological nuances of Iraq.Emma Sky, who advised military authorities in the Iraqi operations, blamed the American soldiers for complicating matters in Iraq, stating that they intervened in everything in the city, causing more problems than solving. The result of the war was lawlessness, chaos, and the death of more than half a million Iraqis, the number of which we cannot know for sure.
