The River Cities' Reader Online: " A year ago, American General John Abizaid published an internal Defense Department book about urban warfare. Abizaid%u2019s %u201CDoctrine for Joint Urban Operations%u201D (see sidebar) was all but ignored by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks, who ran the Iraq war and the initial postwar occupation.

Abizaid wrote about the massive troop requirements for urban warfare; warned of rapid burnout of soldiers and equipment assigned to urban battlegrounds; and time and again referenced catastrophic instances of over-confidence and under-preparedness among commanders and of disastrous misunderstandings of local cultures and their motivations. He also stressed how "essential" it is "law enforcemen" and other "routine activities" be "returned to civilian agencies as quickly as possible."

Abizaid was brought in a month ago to clean up the mess created by Franks and Rumsfeld. But it might be too late.
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Link courtesy Talking Points Memo.