"An unbelievable mess"

According to memos written and delivered to British Prime Minister Tony Blair in May, 2003, and uncovered in The Guardian, re - The U.S. Occupation of Iraq: "No leadership, no strategy, no coordination, no structure and inaccessible to ordinary Iraqis."

The mistakes include:

• A lack of interest by the US commander, General Tommy Franks, in the post-invasion phase.
• The presence in the capital of the US Third Infantry Division, which took a heavyhanded approach to security.
• Squandering the initial sympathy of Iraqis.
• Bechtel, the main US civilian contractor, moving too slowly to reconnect basic services, such as electricity and water.
• Failure to deal with health hazards, such as 40% of Baghdad's sewage pouring into the Tigris and rubbish piling up in the streets.
• Sacking of many of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party, even though many of them held relatively junior posts.

Translation: A complete clusterfuck.

SusanG has more over at dkos.