Invading on a wing and a prayer

We all know that the Baghdad in the days after Saddam fell was an anarchic inferno. The reality of the Bush administration's failure to win the peace has become a slogan of the Kerry campaign - George Bush rushed to war without a plan to win the peace. I think we will continue to discover the depth of this failure, and the corruption of this administration, in the years to come. It will take that long for the layers of secrecy and control to be systematically peeled away after Bush leaves office.

If you want a head start, read Knight-Ridder's, Post-war planning non-existent. It starts this way:

WASHINGTON - In March 2003, days before the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, American war planners and intelligence officials met at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina to review the Bush administration's plans to oust Saddam Hussein and implant democracy in Iraq.

Near the end of his presentation, an Army lieutenant colonel who was giving a briefing showed a slide describing the Pentagon's plans for rebuilding Iraq after the war, known in the planners' parlance as Phase 4-C. He was uncomfortable with his material - and for good reason.

The slide said: "To Be Provided."

I am telling you. There are days when I fear for my country.