Gen. Franks mired in mid-2003

Gen. Franks mired in mid-2003 with perfect timing. Baghdad had fallen, and he left the mess from that "fundamental misunderstand- ing" for someone else to clean uµ The Army is supposed to publish unclassified reports as soon as it can review them, to be sure that they don't contain sensitive mate- rial. More than 21/2 years later, the Army hasn't published the report and has done little to circulate the classified version to Pentagon leaders. Asked why, an Army to 'ouse and Pentagon was evident both before and after the 2005 Rand report - evident to everybody but the White House and Pentagon, apparently. Rather than censor the report the administra- tion could have acted on it two years before political and public pressure forced a change in strategy. Now, as Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged this week with his comments on troop levels, the next president will be responsible for ending what Mr. Bush secretly and recklessly started. Plan on it. Spare