Timothy Reese

Colonel Timothy Reese is the director of the U.S. Army's Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Reese co-authored the Army's On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign report, along with military historian Donald Wright. The 2008 study said the U.S. failed to adequately plan for post-war Iraq after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein.¹

Fast Facts

1. Reese and Wright's report is highly critical of U.S. military efforts in post-invasion Iraq
2. On Point II focuses on U.S. efforts to bring order to Iraq after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein
3. Major problems cited: poor post-war planning and mismanagement²
4. Focus is on period between May 2003 and January 2005
5. Study particularly critical of decisions made by U.S. Army General Tommy Franks¹
6. Report says Franks' decisions led to staffing shortages at Baghdad headquarters¹
7. On Point II is the second volume of the Army's historical study of its role in the war in Iraq

Quote

"In many ways, On Point II is a book the Army did not expect to write because numerous observers, military leaders, and government officials believed, in the euphoria of early April 2003, that US objectives had been achieved and military forces could quickly redeploy out of Iraq. Clearly, those hopes were premature."—Excerpt from On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign³

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