Nothing to see here, move along...

Today's WaPo reports Prewar Memo Warned of Gaps in Iraq Plans:

One month before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, three State Department bureau chiefs warned of 'serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian assistance' in a secret memorandum prepared for a superior.

The State Department officials, who had been discussing the issues with top military officers at the Central Command, noted that the military was reluctant 'to take on 'policing' roles' in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. The three officials warned that 'a failure to address short-term public security and humanitarian assistance concerns could result in serious human rights abuses which would undermine an otherwise successful military campaign, and our reputation internationally.'

[...]

A senior State Department official said yesterday that the memo provided no new information. "This isn't a new story," he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of department rules. "There's been no shortage of revisiting of decisions made and actions taken."

Actually, in today's press gaggle, Larry DiRita said that it was "old news". Which is somewhat true, but largely disingenuous. There was this previous story about the Pentagon's post-war planning by Knight Ridder in October 2004 that was largely ignored at the time:

Near the end of his presentation, an Army lieutenant colonel who was giving a briefing showed a slide describing the Pentagon's plans for rebuilding Iraq after the war, known in the planners' parlance as Phase 4-C. He was uncomfortable with his material - and for good reason.

The slide said: "To Be Provided."

A Knight Ridder review of the administration's Iraq policy and decisions has found that it invaded Iraq without a comprehensive plan in place to secure and rebuild the country. The administration also failed to provide some 100,000 additional U.S. troops that American military commanders originally wanted to help restore order and reconstruct a country shattered by war, a brutal dictatorship and economic sanctions.

What was NOT known at the time was that, as reported in the WaPo today, the State Department was issuing shrill warnings to the Pentagon and the administration that they were about to step in deep doo doo because they hadn't adequately planned for the post-invasion threats to security and stability.

It is also old news that there were internecine battles between Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon, that Rumsfeld threw out the carefully crafted post-war plans developed at State, and that he disregarded the warnings of his top generals (Shinseki) because he thought he knew better.

What is clear now is that the State department was right. It has been amply borne out by the facts on the ground that Rumsfeld and his neocon cohorts in the OSP got nearly everything completely wrong and that has left us in the situation we face today.

It is "old news" that Bush should have fired Rumsfeld long ago. However, it is equally clear that it is "old news" that Bush hasn't got the balls to fire Rumsfeld, Condi, Wolfowitz, Rove, or anyone else in his administration that has left us with this clusterf*** we call Mess-o-potamia.

The level of talk on the "internets" about a withdrawal from Iraq is increasing steadily. Today, Sen. Hagel (R-Neb) said:

"We are seen as occupiers, we are targets. We have got to get out. I don't think we can sustain our current policy, nor do I think we should," he said at one stop.

It seems pretty clear to me that, as Frank Rich suggested, we are past the tipping point. Cindy Sheehan may not be getting the 24/7 coverage that Terri Shiavo got (she's got the 24/7 coverage of the BTK killer's sentencing with which to compete), but she isn't going away and she is being covered in the MSM, daily. The more the right-wing smear-meisters like Hannity, Limbaugh and convicted Watergate felon G. Gordon Liddy ratchet up their anti-Cindy rhetoric, the more you know that she has hit a nerve. However, only the die-hard fanatical dittoheads are swallowing the party line this time. Public opinion is rapidly deteriorating on Bush's approval rating and on his handling of the GWOT GSAVE GWOT and the war in Iraq.

Must be about time for another terror alert. Oops, check that... developing...

Update: check that... Cindy Sheehan did leave Crawford:

The grieving woman who started an antiwar demonstration near President Bush’s ranch nearly two weeks ago left the makeshift camp Thursday after her mother in California had a stroke.

Still, I believe that the movement she bagan will not fade away.