Americans `conned' into backing war, ex-general asserts

Chicago Tribune ^ | Dec. 31, 2003 | Thomas Ricks

[Rennes Templar]

Former Central Command chief Anthony Zinni denounces `ideologues' in Bush administration

Anthony Zinni's opposition to U.S. policy on Iraq began on the monsoon-ridden afternoon of Nov. 3, 1970. He was lying on a Vietnamese mountainside west of Da Nang, three rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle in his side and back. He could feel his lifeblood seeping into the ground as he slipped in and out of consciousness.

He had plenty of time to think in the following months while recuperating in a military hospital in Hawaii. Among other things, he promised himself that, "If I'm ever in a position to say what I think is right, I will. . . . I don't care what happens to my career."

[Rennes Templar]

Excuse me General, with all due respect Sir, you were trained as a miltary man. It's obvious you don't know sh#t about foreign affairs.

[U S Army EOD]

I wonder if the three bullets hit him in the brain??

[StatesEnemy]

Gee... Muammar Gaddafi seems to "get it" - you'd think a U.S.M.C. General could grasp the concept.

[cynicom]

Somewhere along the line someone did not pay proper homage to the dear general. Some general officers have a difficult time adjusting to a life where no one cares what they were or what their opinions are.

[Jaxter]

Hmmm...testing the water for a possible Secretary of State job in a Hillary White House?

[marvlus]

Isn't this the guy that tried to get the Middle East talks going again (a couple of years ago), but failed miserably or am I thinking of someone else?

[dts32041]

Gen Smedley Butler your replacement has been found.

Maybe he will come out against corporate wars like you did in the 30's.

[Dog Gone]

Same guy.

[Naspino]

Let me get this straight. In 1998 when his Commander in Chief said they had to stop Iraq and ordered him to bomb Iraq which was NOT punishing by ANY stretch of the imagination.... he did so unquestioning.

Now four years later after inspectors had been REMOVED for those years he doesn't believe there was a threat. Thats pretty convienent.

[Dionysius]

A Clinton General?

[The Electrician]

"I think a weakened, fragmented, chaotic Iraq, which could happen if this isn't done carefully, is more dangerous in the long run than a contained Saddam is now," he told reporters in 1998.

The general's assumption that Hussein was "contained" reveals a dangerous blindness. Surely the general was aware of concepts of asymmetric warfare, yet he cavalierly dismissed any possibility that Hussein could have been a threat.

[LarryM]

General Ninny was Clinton's Arab rumpswab. He was responsible for the care and feeding of the Saudi despot. Look at how well that went.

[cwb]

Yeah...he was over in Israel when a bomb detonated and any hopes of peace talks were called off. This is not even "news"...Zinni has been spouting this crap for over 2 years. It's pretty sad when the media has to recycle old stories...with a new slant, and call it news.

[Gritty]

He didn't think Hussein was much of a worry anymore. "He was contained," he said. "He had a deteriorated military. He wasn't a threat to the region."

It appears Zinni has a rather stunted view of the War On Terror. He seems to be looking at Iraq one-dimensionally, from a stricly military point of view, ignoring the other broad implications.

I would say it's safe to assume he hasn't read David Kay's Report. But, he can be somewhat excused for that; it has been effectively spiked by the Media and almost nobody else has, either.

[Dog Gone]

Clinton liked the job Zinni did running the Somalia fiasco in 1992 and put him in charge of CentCom in 1997.

[ValerieUSA]

Hey Zinni - where were you when Clinton LIED to the American people and the world about "genocide" in Kosovo before launching an attack against Serbian citizens?

[anonymous_user]

Why doesn't this general get his panties in a twist about Kosovo? Our troops are still there, there's no exit strategy in sight.

But Bush's Iraq is a quagmire. Yeah, I hear exactly what you're saying, General.

[thoughtomator]

Making excuses still for his abominable failure. And yes, he should have known not to accept an impossible task.

[ardara]

AS a Marine I have to say some of the biggest clowns are at the top. Somebody please give this guy some attention.