Charles Skelton: “in 1926, Sir Gerald Ellison published the book, ``Perils of Amateur Strategy,'' the subject of which was a disastrous…”

“in 1926, Sir Gerald Ellison published the book, ``Perils of Amateur Strategy,'' the subject of which was a disastrous British campaign at Gallipoli in 1915. Here we are, in 2006, and we find that the Bush administration is busy writing its sequel, ``Perils of Amateur Strategy II,'' about the misadventure of the American attempt in Iraq. The high hopes of bringing stability and democracy are fading, mainly because of strategic mistakes that were avoidable. These mistakes include the diplomatic failure to ensure passage for our troops through Turkey at an early phase of the war; disbanding the Iraqi army; failure to control the looting after the fall of Baghdad; the failure to secure the weapons caches; and of course the failure to use enough troops to successfully complete the mission. In addition thereto, Mr. Speaker, on another subject, I note the failure of this Congress to fully implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Mr. Speaker, we must not adjourn until we pass those recommendations into law, which will prepare us against future terrorist attacks.”