Nobody Could Have Predicted...

mea culpa: I wrote the following based on initial reports that it was a rocket or mortar attack as reported in the mainstream media. Also, General Schwarzkopf was the expert who said it was a "lucky shot." Regardless of that, after the Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman fiascos, there should have been no reason for me to believe the initial reports were factual. Now they're saying it was a "suicide bomber" who infiltrated the base and detonated the bomb inside the mess tent. Perhaps this is true, but it does manage to get KBR off the hook for not finishing the fortified mess hall in time if it was in fact not a rocket or mortar attack. Eventually, we may even know the whole story.

THE ATTACK IN MOSUL

The recent devastating attack in Mosul has expert opinions ranging from it was just a lucky shot to an alarmingly new degree of precision not seen previously. Either way, it should be a cause of concern.

Nobody Could Have Predicted (NCHP) that the contractor responsible for and behind schedule on building a permanent mess hall structure would be Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton.

NCHP that KBR would blame the lack of security in Iraq as the reason the mess hall had not been completed.

NCHP that the lack of security in Iraq was the result of too few boots on the ground from the inception of the invasion.

So let's summarize. The contract to build the structure that would have provided some degree of protection to our troops was given to a company notorious for incompetence and over-billing. This same company blames the delays in construction on the miserable security situation in Iraq despite the repeated assurances that "we're making progress." The miserable security situation is considered by some to be the direct result of Rumsfeld's decision to limit the number of troops in theater in his concept of transforming the military.

Seems to me that Rummy is now a candidate for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. One more full cup ought to cinch the deal.