Why Iraq Was a Mistake

TIME ^ | 4-13-06 | LIEUT. GENERAL GREG NEWBOLD (RET.)

[SJackson]

A military insider sounds off against the war and the "zealots" who pushed it

Two senior military officers are known to have challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the planning of the Iraq war. Army General Eric Shinseki publicly dissented and found himself marginalized. Marine Lieut. General Greg Newbold, the Pentagon's top operations officer, voiced his objections internally and then retired, in part out of opposition to the war. Here, for the first time, Newbold goes public with a full-throated critique:

In 1971, the rock group The Who released the antiwar anthem Won't Get Fooled Again. To most in my generation, the song conveyed a sense of betrayal by the nation's leaders, who had led our country into a costly and unnecessary war in Vietnam. To those of us who were truly counterculture--who became career members of the military during those rough times--the song conveyed a very different message. To us, its lyrics evoked a feeling that we must never again stand by quietly while those ignorant of and casual about war lead us into another one and then mismanage the conduct of it. Never again, we thought, would our military's senior leaders remain silent as American troops were marched off to an ill-considered engagement. It's 35 years later, and the judgment is in: the Who had it wrong. We have been fooled again.

[SJackson]

Review of the article--Protecting the Left Flank--“Why Iraq Was a Mistake.”

[GeorgiaDawg32]

TIME...I quit reading at that point..

[W04Man]

DITTO

[Chi-townChief]

I always thought "Won't Get Fooled Again" was about the betrayal of the hippies by their left-wing neo-fascist leadership.

[garyhope]

Well, if Time and Newsweek said it, it must be true. /sar.

[SJackson]

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[wideawake]

This guy pulls out the two most tired tropes of the left: that there are "root causes" of terrorism besides the inherent violence of Islam and that Israel is to blame for all the world's problems.

Luckily, the Marines were able to get rid of this cowardly, useless whiner before they needed to rely on him for anything important.

The USMC is a much better service without him or John Murtha in it.

[roses of sharon]

LOL, TIME/DNC did announce last month their plans to use the military to attack the President, the war, our soldiers, and to defend Saddam.

The leftist's M.O. and ideology is to protect dictators, with one caveat; if a leftwing President needs a small war to show he is not a girly man!

[rightgrafix]

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

(small instrumental)

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

(instrumental)

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?

(instrumental)

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

(instrumental)

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

[Wristpin]

I thought Baba-Oriley was the anti war song?

[Williams]

"voiced his objections internally and then retired, in part out of opposition to the war."

In part??? He obviously did NOT retire out of opposition to the war. And I would like to see proof he voiced much internal opposition.

[snarks_when_bored]

This guy pulls out the two most tired tropes of the left: that there are "root causes" of terrorism besides the inherent violence of Islam and that Israel is to blame for all the world's problems.

I don't see the passages in the piece that do this. Got some quotes?

[Proud_USA_Republican]

TIME being allowed to publish is a mistake.

[wideawake]

The article is mainly just a criticism of administration leadership - his testimony before Congress was when he pulled out the annoying A.N.S.W.E.R. analysis of the war on terror.

Those are the comments that put him on TIME's radar.

[.cnI redruM]

Yeah, that's basically what the song is about.

[snarks_when_bored]

I thought you were referring to the TIME essay. I didn't see his Congressional testimony.

[bondjamesbond]

Rumsfeld is trying to transform the military. Parts of the military do not want to be transformed. It is not to be expected that everybody would agree. The chain of command is clear, and each man is expected to do his duty.

[Paine in the Neck]

Another Clinton political appointment like Clark, Shinseki, Zinni et. al.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

We have been SLIMED again. Typical left wing bull.

[CPOSharky]

Another Clinton political appointment like Clark, Shinseki, Zinni et. al.

I was wondering how this 'marine' made it to three star until your comment jogged my memory. (Wow, I managed to forget about clintoon for almost a whole day.)