Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers objected yesterday to a characterization that he second-guessed or doubted war plans drawn up by Gen. Tommy R. Franks, then chief of the U.S. Central Command, six days before the United States launched the war in Afghanistan against al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The Washington Post reported yesterday that Myers, in his first days as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged Franks to open a southern front in Afghanistan to block al Qaeda and Taliban fighters as they fled Kabul. The article said that Franks did not do so and that many of the enemy fighters escaped unscathed in November 2001.
"Numerous military leaders came together immediately following the events of September 11th and formulated plans we began executing a month later," Myers said in a statement.
"We discussed every available course of action, which we take very seriously, and do every time we engage our military men and women in armed conflict. It is wrong to characterize these discussions and planning sessions as 'second guessing' or 'doubting' anyone."
-- Barton Gellman
