THEY SEEM SURPRISED

That the military will self-criticize. But in truth it happens after every mission, whether it is training or "real world".

Its called collecting the lessons learned.

THE CLASSIFIED report on lessons learned in the war says U.S. commanders were so busy preparing to defeat Iraq’s military and directing the fight that they were given too little time to properly prepare for “Phase IV” peace, according to the officials.

It also flays planning for so-far fruitless efforts to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The threat from such chemical and biological weapons was cited by President Bush and the Pentagon as a major reason for the invasion.

“It is a brutally honest report,” one of the officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. “It shows that the military is self-critical — not just satisfied with 93 percent effectiveness in combat.”

However, I have a bone to pick with the concept that post-war planning is purely a military affair. Seems to me if that were the case, we wouldn't have Mr. Bremer "running" the reconstruction effort.

I'm not sure where post-war planning belongs...certainly a mix of military and State Department agencies to say the least, but it goes well beyond the walls of the Pentagon.