As we enter year six, does anyone else remember this Rumsfeld chestnut?

When asked how long military operations in Iraq were expected to last, he replied "Six days, six weeks, I doubt six months"



Who thinks anybody really thought we'd be out at all, let alone in six months? The more I watch what's going on over there, the more I believe that Bush knew all he had to do was get our armed forces across the border and engaged, and nobody would be able to extricate them for a decade or more.



Am I being too cynical?

As we enter year six, does anyone else remember this Rumsfeld chestnut?
No you are not cynical..remember the war will pay for itself BS??
Reply:their tactics are the way used car salesmen make a livin~!!!
Reply:Yes, you're being too cynical. Rummie was overly optimistic, and if you asked him today, I'm sure he'd use a dodge like "the current operations are paramilitary," which has within it more than a grain of truth. He was one of the few who didn't forsee the mess left by the toppling of the regime, but DOD has always thought of maneuver warfare as "proper" and disdained the concept of involving itself in counter-insurgency operations, so as SecDef he was to some degree expressing the Pentagon's view, I'm sure.
Reply:No your not, the US military establishment have wanted a permanent presence in the gulf region for many years.

Lets not forget that the troops were never pulled out of Kuwait at the end of hostilities against Iraq over the invasion of Kuwait.

Ergo US troops have been in the region for almost 20 years now.

It is my fervent belief that they are also actively looking for a reason to enter Iran.
Reply:I remember that very clearly...



and that the war would 'pay for itself' in iraqi oil.



so many falsehoods ...

Bad Teeth