It seems Beamer has published a new book, with loads of excuses as to how badly he screwed up Iraq. One of the statements he has made is that he wanted to triple the number of troops in Iraq. The White House, who has constantly claimed that all the local leaders had to do was ask for more, has confirmed this is true..
So if the White House position is all they have to do is ask, and Beamer did ask, why were more troops not delivered?
Well, it appears that since the military commanders didn't ask, Beamers opinion as the top US official didn't matter. Of course we all know why the local commanders didn't ask for more troops, they saw what happened when you did.
In April 2002, 14 months before Shinseki was due to retire, The Washington Post reported, quoting "Pentagon officials", that his replacement had already been selected. "In another unusual move, Rumsfeld has tapped Army Gen. John Keane, the No. 2 officer in the Army, to succeed the current chief of that service, Gen. Eric Shinseki, whose term runs out next year. Selecting a successor for the current chief so far in advance is highly unusual." This leak was seen by some as undercutting Shinseki's authority within the Army.
And the message was sent, don't ask for more troops, unless you want DC to pull the rug out from under you.
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Iraq Beamer Shinseki
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