Army asked to release RAND report on war

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Army asked to release RAND report on war
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is asking the Army to release an unclassified study completed in 2005 that leveled widespread criticism on planning for postwar Iraq.

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., sent a letter to Secretary of the Army Peter Geren on Monday in which the congressman admonished the Army for not releasing a RAND Corp. report that reportedly found problems with nearly every organization that had a role in planning for the war.

“I find it inexcusable that the Army would apparently allow itself to become politicized in such a manner,” Skelton wrote. “To try to not release such a useful report, seemingly to avoid political problems, is not in the fine tradition of the United States Army and should not be acceptable to you.”

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., also sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Monday calling for the release of the unclassified study, according to Obama’s Senate office. Obama, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, called on Gates to justify his decision if the report is not released.

In an e-mail message to Stars and Stripes, Lt. Col. Lee M. Packnett, an Army spokesman, wrote: “The Army will comply with any request from Congress in conjunction with the Department of Defense reference the RAND Study.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52423