Rummy Commissions Open Ended Review Of Iraq Operations

by Steve

Under the category of “better late than never”:

The Pentagon is sending a retired four-star Army general to Iraq next week to conduct an unusual "open-ended" review of the military's entire Iraq policy, including troop levels, training programs for Iraqi security forces and the strategy for fighting the insurgency, senior Defense Department officials said Thursday.

The extraordinary leeway given to the highly regarded officer, Gen. Gary E. Luck, a former head of American forces in South Korea and currently a senior adviser to the military's Joint Forces Command, underscores the deep concern by senior Pentagon officials and top American commanders over the direction that the operation in Iraq is taking, and its broad ramifications for the military, said some members of Congress and military analysts.

Luck is the right guy for this job, and we can only hope that Rummy listens to him. But given Rummy’s track record of listening to the brass, one cannot be hopeful at this time. Perhaps Luck should touch base with retired General Eric Shinseki before he leaves for Iraq.