Rumsfeld would not listen to planners re Iraq

Months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists from developing plans for securing a post-war Iraq, the retiring commander of the Army Transportation Corps said Thursday. Even if the troops didn't stay, "at least we have to plan for it," General Scheid thought... Even if the troops didn't stay, "at least we have to plan for it," Scheid said.

"I remember the secretary of defense saying that he would fire the next person that said that," Scheid said. "We would not do planning for Phase 4 operations, which would require all those additional troops that people talk about today. "He said we will not do that because the American public will not back us if they think we are going over there for a long war." "In his own mind he thought we could go in and fight and take out the regime and come out".

"But a lot of us planners were having a real hard time with it because we were also thinking we can't do this",Scheid said. ".Once you tear up a country you have to stay and rebuild it. It would be very challenging." Rumsfeld wouldn't listen.

Later, Scheid said he remembers everyone thinking, "My gosh, we're in the middle of Afghanistan, how can we possibly be doing two at one time? How can we pull this off? It's just going to be too much."