Posted on 05/22/2004 5:41:40 PM PDT by b4its2late
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Gen. Zinni: 'They've Screwed Up' May 21, 2004
Accusing top Pentagon officials of "dereliction of duty," retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni says staying the course in Iraq isn't a reasonable option.
"The course is headed over Niagara Falls. I think it's time to change course a little bit or at least hold somebody responsible for putting you on this course," he tells CBS News Correspondent Steve Kroft in an interview to be broadcast on 60 Minutes, Sunday, May 23, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
The current situation in Iraq was destined to happen, says Zinni, because planning for the war and its aftermath has been flawed all along.
"There has been poor strategic thinking in this...poor operational planning and execution on the ground," says Zinni, who served as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command from 1997 to 2000.
Zinni blames the poor planning on the civilian policymakers in the administration, known as neo-conservatives, who saw the invasion as a way to stabilize the region and support Israel. He believes these people, who include Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defense, have hijacked U.S. foreign policy.
"They promoted it and pushed [the war]... even to the point of creating their own intelligence to match their needs. Then they should bear the responsibility," Zinni tells Kroft.
In his upcoming book, "Battle Ready," written with Tom Clancy, Zinni writes of the poor planning in harsh terms. "In the lead-up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw, at minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility; at worst, lying, incompetence and corruption," he writes.
Zinni explains to Kroft, "I think there was dereliction in insufficient forces being put on the ground and [in not] fully understanding the military dimensions of the plan."
He still believes the situation is salvageable if the United States can communicate more effectively with the Iraqi people and demonstrate a better image to them.
The enlistment of the U.N. and other countries to participate in the mission is also crucial, he says. Without these things, says Zinni, "We are going to be looking for quick exits. I don't believe we're there now, and I wouldn't want to see us fail here."
Also central to success in Iraq is more troops, from the United States and especially other countries, to control violence and patrol borders, he says.
Zinni feels that undertaking the war with the minimum of troops paved the way for the security problems the U.S. faces there now, the violence Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently admitted he hadn't anticipated.
"He should not have been surprised," says Zinni. "There were a number of people who before we even engaged in this conflict felt strongly that we underestimated...the scope of the problems we would have in [Iraq]."
The fact that no one in the administration has paid for the blunder irks Zinni. "But regardless of whose responsibility [it is]...it should be evident to everybody that they've screwed up, and whose heads are rolling on this?"
Zinni is a nobody - much of America has not heard of him - now if Tom Clancy serves a s a front man for Zinnis while pushing the nook then we have a problem - NASCAR dads never heard of Zini but they know who Tom Clancy is. Houston we have a problem....
These Clinton toadys have trouble shutting up. Presumeably Zinni was helpful in reducing our army divisions by a third and getting us involved in Kosovo instead of letting the brave French and Germans handle it.
Zinni is a nobody - much of America has not heard of him - now if Tom Clancy serves a s a front man for Zinnis while pushing the book - lol not to nook- then we have a problem - NASCAR dads never heard of Zini but they know who Tom Clancy is. Houston we have a problem....
I don't think it's as much as a problem as all that. I know who Tom Clancy is but I also know who George Bush is. Clancy writes fiction, Bush is the real deal.
Perfect Dane!! Some people wake up in a new world everyday!
It won't take long before people who care will know exactly who Zinni is.
Thank you for your insight in this matter!
Clinton is behind everything still that smears...you would be an utter tool to think otherwise.
Zinni will soon be know as that egotistical blowhard who caused the Cole incident.
Our presence there was accepted at first, but nobody saw the problems with the networks like al-jazzera and others stirring the pot 24hrs a day since we occupied.
Nobody thought, that Iraqi's would be so slow to accept and achieve control of their own, even when given every chance to do so.
Much of this was not so much a mistake in planning, but a problem with a severely fragmented and untruthful Iraqi public. It was like a insane asylum!
Most importantly, nobody saw in advance, that our own American press would use Iraq as a way to get rid of Bush. I never thought they could do it without getting rebuked by the entire American public, as it is war time.
I am afraid we gave the American public too much credit for being patriotic after 911. They are not.
It is getting better now, but one has to keep in mind that it has been only a year or so. We have to give it time! By September, all this recent crap will hopefully be a distant memory.
BTW, the guy who spread those bad numbers around was not playing with the team. No one person anywhere will be able to say how much this will cost. in the end, it does not matter because once we took on that responsibility, the responsibility is ours. It will take what it takes.
It is the dems who have made money the issue. It is not, nor should it be.
Zinni's book may prove to be the best piece of fiction that Clancy has written since "Executive Orders".
I'd always heard that Clancy was mighty conservative, why is he involved with this? $$$?
More troops are always required. It's called overwhelming force. You must be a chickhawk. How's your math [5-1]Q?
"Great record...getting our sailors slaughtered for political purposes."
Guess you didn't even pay attention to the Congressional hearings. There are only TWO other places that US navy ships can refuel between the Persian Gulf and the Med. One is Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, and the other is Djibouti. And both of them were rated as equally dangerous. Look at the Congressional hearings HERE:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec00/aden_10-19.html
Evidently you are the one who is missing out on history. The USS Cole was struck in October 2000. General Zinni gave up CentCom to General Franks in July 2000.
So like a true man of accountability, General Zinni passes the buck to no one (unlike certain Pentagon leaders currently). General Zinni will freely admit that it was he who organized the refueling contract in the previous years - and that it was a choice out of many bad locations. But it was General Franks who was at the helm when the Cole conducted refueling operations in October of 2000.
Now, why didn't we have more refueling ships? Because of the drawdowns by Bush I and Cheney which resulted in our fleet being decimated. These cuts were continued by Clinton, but it was Cheney who started the worldwide decline of our naval forces.
BTW, Did you know Zinni voted for Bush in 2000?
As far as Zinni being an egomaniacal patsy, that's Bullsh*t. Plain and simple. General Zinni is a proven combat leader, and he's got the time (and awards) in Vietnam to prove it. He was always a straightforward hard charger.
That's why he intially supported the Bush Administration, and was rewarded with the post of Bush's special envoy to the Mideast in November 2001: he was a straightshooter, and an honest broker. He could be trusted by the Bush Administration, and by the Israelis and Palestinians as well.
Schwarzkopf, Webb and Van Riper all come out on Zinni's side in this disastrous Iraqi campaign. I guess their cowards in your eyes too. At least they have one thing that you lack: their INTEGRITY.
all this crap gives a boost to our enemies, and it will keep up to about the election when hopefully and prayerfully, Bush pulls it out.....
Does anyone think the good general will be asked about the money for ill scam that made backstabbers and blackmailers and whores out of Russia and France and many others..????
That is what they used to say about Gen. McCaffery. Remember? Then he screwed up and disobeyed Schwarzkopf during the 'left-hook' maneuver during the first Gulf war, then he screwed up again at the 'highway of death', lost all credibility and went and hid under Bill Clinton's skirt.
Zinni WAS a warrior. When he screwed up, he signed on with those who would best protect him.
What Zinni is doing is referred to as patriotism by the left.
Treachery by me and anyone else who believes our cause is just.
The Israelis most certanly did not and do not trust Zinni.
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