Post-Saddam planning failures ‘unforgivable,’ Democrats say

Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday accused the Bush administration of “unforgivable” and “unconscionable” failures to plan properly for the post-Saddam Hussein hostilities in Iraq that had claimed more than 60 American lives.

The Washington Times disclosed in yesterday’s edition a secret report for the Joint Chiefs of Staff that said planning for the rebuilding phase was late in starting and not ready for activation when the war began March 19.

“Our brave men and women in uniform have been left without adequate plans and support for their ongoing mission in Iraq,” Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, said in a statement responding to the story in The Times.

“This is unconscionable, and the Bush administration must take immediate steps to provide the fundamentals for a successful strategy,” said Mr. Graham, a former chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

“Why have they been hiding this report and why have they not been upfront with the American people in explaining the situation in Iraq?” he said.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say they want the administration to lay out a clear vision for the extent and length of a U.S. commitment in Iraq before they will approve an expected emergency budget request. Military operations and reconstruction are costing $1 billion a week. L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator for Iraq, says many more billions are needed.

“I do think the administration was premature in declaring victory and premature in their estimation for the cost, both in terms of human life as well as in resources required,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, South Dakota Democrat.

“The problem, of course now, is that we still don’t know how much longer, how many more resources will be required, what kind of personnel will be called upon and for how long a period of time,” he said. “These are basic questions that I think Congress and the American people have a right to know.”

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, said he was not surprised by the Joint Chiefs report’s findings, though he had not seen it. “It’s unfortunately confirming what many of us thought,” he said.

Mr. Dodd said a problem became “quite obvious to many of us” last spring. That was when retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, Iraq’s first U.S. administrator, turned down an invitation to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about postwar plans.

“Now we know why,” Mr. Dodd said, adding that it was “unforgivable” that the administration did not plan adequately and had “no real anticipation of the kinds of problems” that would happen during Iraq’s reconstruction.

“They’ve created a real mess that’s going to take us years to correct,” he said.

Republicans generally came to President Bush’s defense.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the administration’s planning efforts were improving.

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