American intelligence success stories continue to flood in from Iraq. This on the missile attack on Baghdad’s Al Rashid Hotel, which killed a U.S. soldier and wounded 17 people:
One official said that the military had specific intelligence of an imminent attack on the hotel, the Rashid, where senior personnel of the American occupation live and eat, but that no special precautions had been taken.
. . .
[A] senior military official said, “We knew this was coming.” The official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified, declined to give details, but said several precautionary security measures could have been taken, including moving Mr. Wolfowitz and his delegation out of the hotel, increasing the security alert and increasing patrols around the hotel. None of those things happened, he said.
Sounds like security and organizational coordination is in top form over there.
In fairness, I should note that Paul Bremer has ordered a “full investigation” into the matter, not that it will make much difference for one American now.