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Tony Wilson
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Comments by "Tony Wilson" (@tonywilson4713) on "Here's Who You Shouldn't Quote During Your Workplace Propaganda Meeting" video.
I sort of agree but there's a lot NOT being said about Powell in this sort of discussion. Other than admitting what he said at the UN was wrong. Powell actually tried to stop the invasion, which is not as widely known as it should be. Its all covered in the 2004 PBS Frontline episode "Rumsfled's War." I saw it here in Australia circa 2005/06 and it blew the lid of who the people who'd caused that mess. A lot of finger pointing was at Powell because of his UN speech but that's only 1 part of it. Powell tried his hardest to get Bush to back away. He even had a private dinner with Bush and bluntly told Bush that Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bolton and others were NOT military men and weren't experts in military matters while he and others were. That's why a lot of the political people ended up hanging Powell out to take the blame. The one military guy who is NOT mentioned enough is a Colonel named Douglas Macgregor who had made a name for himself as a tank commander in the first Gulf War at the Battle of 73 Easting. People like Powell and Eric Shinseki said invading Iraq would take several hundred thousand TO SECURE THE COUNTRY. Macgregor told Rumsfled, Wolfowitz and others that was nonsense and it would only take around 80,00 because the Iraqi was weak and disorganised from the sanctions. In that Frontline episode he's actually interviewed and says that. Powell, Shinseki and others tried to tell Bush and Congress that wasn't the point. The point was SECURING the country AFTERWARDS, which we know was a disaster. The Iraqi militias raided the military supply depots because there just wasn't anyone there to stop them. I hate the fact that despite making some mistakes that its ignored that Powell tried to stop the invasion. These days I find it despicable that Macgregor has NEVER been held accountable and these days he's trotted out as an expert by various think tanks and parts of the media.
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Sorry about the other reply this is actually your comment I meant to reply too. I agree with this comment and there's more to that story. Other than admitting what he said at the UN was wrong, Powell actually tried to stop the invasion of Iraq, which is not as widely known as it should be. Its all covered in the 2004 PBS Frontline episode "Rumsfled's War." I saw it here in Australia circa 2005/06 and it blew the lid of who the people who'd caused that mess. A lot of finger pointing was at Powell because of his UN speech but that's only 1 part of it. Powell tried his hardest to get Bush to back away. He even had a private dinner with Bush and bluntly told Bush that Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bolton and others were NOT military men and weren't experts in military matters while he and others were. That's why a lot of the political people ended up hanging Powell out to take the blame. The one military guy who is NOT mentioned enough is a Colonel named Douglas Macgregor who had made a name for himself as a tank commander in the first Gulf War at the Battle of 73 Easting. People like Powell and Eric Shinseki said invading Iraq would take several hundred thousand TO SECURE THE COUNTRY. Macgregor told Rumsfled, Wolfowitz and others that was nonsense and it would only take around 80,00 because the Iraqi was weak and disorganised from the sanctions. In that Frontline episode he's actually interviewed and says that. Powell, Shinseki and others tried to tell Bush and Congress that wasn't the point. The point was SECURING the country AFTERWARDS, which we know was a disaster. The Iraqi militias raided the military supply depots because there just wasn't anyone there to stop them. I hate the fact that despite making some mistakes that its ignored that Powell tried to stop the invasion. These days I find it despicable that Macgregor has NEVER been held accountable and these days he's trotted out as an expert by various think tanks and parts of the media.
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@52flyingbicycles There's one major thing about Art of War you've downplayed (maybe) is that its about the basics and the basics in almost every human endeavour DON'T CHANGE. If you look at something like American football if your team can't block and tackle it doesn't matter how good your QB is or your game plan. In basketball if your team has 4 players who can't dribble or pass does it matter if the 5th guy is Lebron?? Does it matter how good your slap shot is if you can't skate? Basics matter and they always have. FYI - I'm an engineer and there's this great line AOW about how an ugly short war is better than a long drawn out war because a long draw out war saps the nation of strength. I can tell you for a fact that every project I have ever done where it was dragged out ended badly. I have seen massive projects grind to a halt with ridiculous delays and expense because some clown had just not got something basic done.
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