State Department experts warned CENTCOM before Iraq war about lack of plans for post-war Iraq security: "Newly declassified State Department documents show that government experts warned the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in early 2003 about 'serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian assistance,' well before Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

In a February 7, 2003, memo to Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, three senior Department officials noted CENTCOM's 'focus on its primary military objectives and its reluctance to take on 'policing' roles,' but warned that 'a failure to address short-term public security and humanitarian assistance concerns could result in serious human rights abuses which would undermine an otherwise successful military campaign, and our reputation internationally.' The memo adds 'We have raised these issues with top CENTCOM officials.'"

...

"The new documents, released this month to the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act, also provide more evidence on when the Bush administration began planning for regime change in Iraq -- as early as October 2001."

(Via The National Security Archives.)