Group Cohesiveness In Bush's War

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Register to read the introduction… Basically the group feels it is invincible and can do no wrong which often leads to excessive optimism and the taking of severe risks. There was evidence of this when the Bush Administration did not weigh out the factors of a postwar Iraq nor draw up any kind of feasible policy in accordance to likely emergence of an insurgency. They believed once the war was over it would just be a matter of a quick hand-off. General Shinseki, the former Army Chief of Staff, had proposed several hundred thousand soldiers. His view was that a significant ground force presence would be required to counter ethnic tensions of postwar Iraq. The expert opinion of General Shinseki was deliberately disregarded as it was in direct conflict with the view of the group. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld’s and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz’s public statement of Shinseki’s proposal being “widely off the mark” further illustrates overconfidence and insulation within the group from outside opinions, as they feel they can do no …show more content…
Self-censorship occurs when a member or members of the group decide themselves to hold back individual viewpoints that deviate from the apparent consensus of the group. George Tenet, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did not believe there was a Saddam Hussein-Osama bin Laden link. He and the CIA did not find any conclusive evidence to support this claim. Tenet was also aware that the data presented in the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was flawed and inconclusive yet he did not put up a serious fight to voice his concerns, especially when the opportunity arose before President Bush. During a meeting in the oval office Bush remarks whether this is all the evidence they have to wage war against Iraq, Tenet confirms that it is a “slam-dunk”. He knows very well that the data is not solid but out of fear of rocking the boat he purposely does not relay the correct

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