CITIZEN ALERT v1.94DESERT CROSSING

An Action Report has been made public called DESERT CROSSING which was a war game played out back in 1999 about a possible invasion, occupation and reconstruction of Iraq. The gaming determined that the U.S. would need at least 400,000 troops and yet this would still leave the country in a complete mess.

Even more significantly, the former CENTCOM commander noted that his plan had called for a force of 400,000 for the invasion -- 240,000 more than what Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved. "We were concerned about the ability to get in there right away, to flood the towns and villages," USA Today quoted Zinni as saying in July 2003. "We knew the initial problem would be security."

Army General Thomas "Tommy" Franks adjusted the concept when he assumed command of CENTCOM upon Zinni's retirement. Yet even his initial version of OPLAN 1003-98 envisioned a need for 385,000 troops, according to the book, COBRA II, -- before Rumsfeld insisted that the number be sharply reduced.

We currently have some where in the neighborhood of 144,000-160,000 troops in Iraq.

You can check out the report here.

Hopefully later tonight I will have time to post some last minute election tidbits.