NY Times: Army Supressed RAND Study

The New York Times ran a bit of an expose today about a study the RAND group did for the Army. RAND is private, but receives government funding to do research for the armed forces.

In 2005, RAND was commissioned to do a study on the planning for post-war Iraq-- the mistakes that were made, what worked and what didn't. The study was critical of the higher-ups in the Bush administration: President Bush, Secretaries Powell and Rumsfeld, and NSA Rice. The study pointed out the boarders should have been secured quicker to prevent foreign insurgents from streaming over the boarders. The general insufficiency of post-war planning was also detailed.

RAND then went to have the report, which was supposed to be public, published in November 2005, but was stopped by Army officials. They thought it would be useful in planning future missions.

For his part, General Lovelace released a statement that said, in part: "The RAND study simply did not deliver a product that could have assisted the Army in paving a clear way ahead; it lacked the perspective needed for future planning by the U.S. Army."