Credit and Blame Where Each Is Due

This Ralph Peters piece, which does show the usual military disdain for civilian political control, scores some good points about the weaknesses of planning for post-war Iraq.

Particularly notable is his discussion of the fear our leadership has of telling the truth about the costs of fighting this war right.

"Why was our military prevented from conducting its standard, detailed planning processes? Why were troop levels held artificially low?

"Because ideologues in the Bush administration feared that, if the American people were given honest answers about the potential cost, it might be politically impossible to go to war."

We are not being told the whole truth. Kerry thinks we should be nicer to France, Germany and the U.N. Bush scares us with colored lights and then tells us to go about our business. The sad deficiencies of the Democrats, which make a vote for Bush necessary, don't give the Bushies a bye for their own mistakes and limitations.

The situation is much more serious than that. And our people aren't as feckless as some think, either.