“In May 2004, a senior general at the Pentagon who believed…’the United States is already on the road to defeat in Iraq,’ blamed his civilian superiors, Secretary [of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary [Paul] Wolfowitz. ‘I do not believe we had a clearly defined war strategy, end state and exit strategy before we commenced our invasion,’ this general told Thomas E. Ricks of the Washington Post [on May 9, 2004]. ‘The current OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] refused to listen or adhere to military advice.’ ”
– Larry Diamond, Squandered Victory, Page 291