Larry Diamond's Iraq Talking Points

Larry Diamond: So I would say that the truly cardinal sin was not the war itself but the decision to go to war without adequate preparation or support: leaving Iraq to burn in chaos in the days and weeks after Saddam fell, having no effective plan for the postwar period, not having nearly enough troops, not giving them nearly enough protection and equipment, not having fully mobilized our own country for the scope of challenge we were clearly going to face in the postwar period. It was war on the cheap, war without sacrifice except by the soldiers and families asked to risk--and too painfully often to make--the ultimate sacrifice. It was war without any fiscal discipline or sense of urgency; "we're at war--let's party" as Tom Friedman wrote in a column in the months leading up to the invasion. This was truly sinful and inexcusable, what I call in the book (speaking metaphorically and morally, rather than legally) criminal negligence. I think history will render a harsh judgment on all of those responsible in this Administration.

And that's all I have to say about that.