Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling said the U.S. generals had failed to prepare their troops properly and misled the Congress about the resources needed for the war. He said the U.S. had repeated the mistakes of the Vietnam War.
Lieutenant Colonel Yingling’s remarks come a day after the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus described the Iraq situation as “exceedingly complex and very tough.” and asked the Congress to led more troops into Baghdad. Lt Col Yingling has served two tours in Iraq, said that the military leadership had entirely failed to grasp what would be needed for success in Iraq. “For reasons that are not yet clear, America’s general officer corps underestimated the strength of the enemy,” he wrote in the Armed Forces Journal, “overestimated the capabilities of Iraq’s government and security forces, and failed to provide Congress with an accurate assessment of the security conditions in Iraq.” He urged Congress to take a greater role in monitoring officer’s performance and hold them accountable. He also wrote that “Given the lack of troop strength, not even the most brilliant general could have devised the ways necessary to stabilize post-Saddam Iraq”
Meanwhile, Congress passed a war funding bill setting a timetable for U.S. combat troops withdrawal from Iraq, despite the threat of a veto by President George W. Bush.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6600893.stm
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