“In a harsh December [31] 2002 document titled ‘Planning for a Self-Inflicted Wound,’ Anthony H. Cordesman, a widely recognized civilian expert in military strategy and the Middle East, warned that the Pentagon’s postwar planning was ‘uncoordinated and faltering’ and based on ignorance about Iraq and the region. ‘Far too many *experts,* ‘ Cordesman wrote, ‘have (a) never been in Iraq to the point of having practical knowledge of the country, and (b) have concentrated on the threat so long that they have little intelligence data on the workings of its government, civil society, and economy.’ ”
– Karen DeYoung, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell, Page 460