Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said you go to war with the army you have....?

Question

So why didn't we wait until we had the army we wanted if the army we had was inadequate? What was the big rush?

Even if I missed his point I still want to know why we went to war with inadequate preparation rather than waiting for a more auspicious time.

Answer 1

There was a general in the civil war (American) who did just that. His name was McClelland. Never did win a major battle. Never did defeat the confederacy. Never got close to Richmond. It took someone who was willing to use what he had to to the job. US Grant. He won the war for the Union.
Same here.

IN WW II, America entered the war with the 6th best fighter aircraft in the world. We invaded France with what would be (generously) rated as the fourth best tank in Europe (our aircraft had improved by then). German machine guns were vastly superior. We did the best with what we had. And won.

Same here.

The rush was to beat Saddam before he got the bomb. Remember, the Clinton Administration, the French, and the UN all agreed that he had WMD's and was working on a nuclear program. Saddam had a history of starting wars. He had a history of using wmds. That was why.

Answer 2

Time

Answer 3

They had to act fast before the world found out that the intelligence Bush used to justify the war was fabricated.

Answer 4

Rumsfield is a complete idiot and he couldn't lead a successful military against the Boy's Scouts of America.

Answer 5

You're missing the point of his comment. It refers to the lead time involved in fielding new equipment, from conception through to issuing.

Answer 6

Saddam was only a few components away from having WMDs completed. Sh*t, the Marines are always ready. I don't know what he is talking about. We kicked @ss.

Answer 7

We needed to rush!