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Elusive report

Ever since The Washington Times disclosed a secret Pentagon "lessons learned" report Sept. 3, House Democrats have tried to get a copy. But they keep being blocked by the Defense Department and the Republicans.

The Democratic effort reached a new level this week when a resolution, sponsored by Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida, was introduced during a House Armed Services Committee markup. The resolution demanded that the Pentagon turn over a copy but was rejected on a party-line vote.

Last month, the House International Relations Committee voted down the same resolution. Now, the only way the resolution can reach the House floor is for Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican, to allow a vote -- which he won't.

Behind the scenes, Democrats are trying other tactics to get a copy of "Operation Iraqi Freedom Strategic Lessons Learned." The report, labeled a "final draft," was prepared by the Joint Staff, the planning arm of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Democrats asked the Pentagon for a copy and were told no. Then they asked if a copy could be brought to a classified briefing room, where it would be read but not copied. Again, the Pentagon said no.

There is good reason to keep the report from the opposition party. The report gives the Bush administration poor grades on planning for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. This is the Phase 4 operation for which the president's advisers are getting so much criticism for failing to foresee the ongoing guerrilla war.

One part of the report says, "Late formation of DoD [Phase 4] organizations, limited time available for the development of detailed plans and pre-deployment coordination. Command relationships (and communication requirements) and responsibilities were not clearly defined for DoD organizations until shortly before [the war] commenced."

The Pentagon initially responded to The Times story by saying the report reflected the military's tradition of being "brutally honest" so mistakes are not repeated. After a few weeks, however, the spin turned to casting doubt on the report's accuracy and saying, "It's only a draft."