American Progress fellow Larry Korb recently published an op-ed that drew a response this past weekend from Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita.
Korb had argued that the Bush administration’s repeated failure to heed the advice of top military commanders about troop levels in Iraq had not only undercut the mission, but severely weakened our military. “Gen. Maxwell Taylor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for President Lyndon Johnson, said that while we sent the Army to Vietnam to save Vietnam, we had to withdraw to save the Army,” Korb wrote. “This is where we are today.”
DiRita was incredulous:
Korb is looking for something that doesn’t exist: a difference in views between civilian leaders and military commanders regarding force levels in Iraq. The President, Secretary (Donald) Rumsfeld and military commanders have all consistently said “” and believed “” that the conflict against extremists in Iraq will ultimately have to be fought and won by Iraqis.
One doesn’t have to look far to discredit DiRita’s argument — examples of U.S. forces on the ground disagreeing with current troop levels are numerous. Read more
