We received a considerable response - some good, some bad, some downright nasty - to our story about a study by Dr. Joseph J. Collins of the National Defense University of the Bush administration's decision to go to war against Iraq and the planning and aftermath of the March 2003 invasion. Here's what the author himself had to say about the version of our story published in the Miami Herald, which declined to print his letter.

Joseph J. Collins

3909 Franconia Road

Alexandria, Virginia  22310

April 21, 2008

To the Editor:

The Miami Herald story about my paper ("Pentagon Study: War is a 'Debacle'," April 18, 2008) distorted the nature and intent of its subject. The paper in question, Choosing War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and its Aftermath, was not a “National Defense University” study, nor was it a “Pentagon Study.” The disclaimer on page vi of the study clearly identifies this work as unofficial and personal, not a government “report,” as you portrayed it. 

This study examines how the United States chose to go to war in Iraq, how the U.S. decision-making process functioned, and what can be done to improve that process. The implication of the Herald story was that this study was mostly about current events or future policy. Such is not the case.

The study is about reforming decision-making, not apportioning blame.  It does not "lay much of the blame" on Secretary Rumsfeld for problems in the conduct of the war, nor does it say that he "bypassed the Joint Chiefs of Staff." It does not single out "Condoleeza Rice and Stephen Hadley" for criticism, nor does it blame them for faulty decisions.

Your readers deserve a better summary of this paper than you gave them.  I urge them to download the study (www.ndu.edu/inss/Occasional_Papers/OP5.pdf ) and read it for themselves. 

Joseph J. Collins

Professor, National War College