It Was Turkey's Fault

Not me!! NY Times (03.21.05):

"Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Sunday used the second anniversary of the American-led invasion of Iraq to answer the most tenacious criticism of the war effort - that the Pentagon did not commit sufficient troops to the major offensive or to stability efforts after Baghdad fell. The fault, Mr. Rumsfeld contended in two appearances on television talk shows, rested with Turkey, a NATO ally, which would not give permission for the Fourth Infantry Division to cross its territory and open a northern front at the start of the war in March 2003." Rumsfeld Faults Turkey for Barring Use of Its Land in '03 to Open Northern Front in Iraq

It was Tommy Franks' fault too: "Pressed on why the level of American forces was not increased to subdue a resilient insurgency even after the United States was the occupying force in Iraq, he said the troop levels for the stabilization mission were set by Gen. Tommy R. Franks, who at the time was commander of the military's Central Command." The article notes that Mr. Rumsfeld "did acknowledge in the interview that he officially endorsed General Franks's recommendations for troop levels." But it's still not my fault, you understand. WeHereAtTheOffice^™ also like Mr. Rumsfeld because he doesn't take any guff from Congress.