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?"
Bah! Pundits and the press lambasted Roosevelt, Truman, MacArthur, Ike, and any other public figure who had a hand in the conduct of WWII. They were pillioried up and down for how they handled the war and (later) the occupation from Dec. 8th 1941 until the troops finally left Japan in 1952.
Criticism is not treason, and integrity doesn't mean sheep-like acquiescence to authourity.
IMHO he is just another RAT politician who was against the war for political reasons. Zinni did seem to know the policy of changing the mideast by establishing a democracy in Iraq. He never did say whether or why he was against this policy.
As a general rule, whenever there is a war it is easy to find people to speak against it. The true measure of how wrong they are is not Neville Chamberlin but, rather, our own Congress in 1937 who almost passed a constitutional amendment requiring a referendum to go to war. Even FDR who was seen as a virtual God by his followers could not motivate the public and the Congress to prepare for the oncoming conflict.
The only thing that has changed is that the Pubbies are not the peace at any price party as they were in the30's. Now the Howard Dean/Michael Moore/Mass Media wing of the RAT party have taken over this duty.
The current anti-war strategy is to get everyone to agree that the Iraq War is a lost cause and we have been defeated. It is the background for all discussion on this topic and its prevalence in the mass media and academe' has resulted in even a few tepid conservatives to jump ship on this issue.
If our President prevails in this matter, and I think he will, he will go into the history books as one of the more successful political leaders of the century.
The one subject I resonated to that Zinni mentioned was the failure to incorporate the Baathist previous government into a a new one. Machiavelli once pointed out that there is nothing more difficult than establishing a new order--those removed from power fiercely resist and those who will benefit don't realize it in time. The issue usually is resoved by taking over the leadership positions of the defeated enemy and then continuing the same form, but with a different substance, what has gone on before.
He is not exactly a strategic genius if all of this was building up under his command and he didn't go to the press then.
Pundits and the press may have criticized Roosevelt and Truman. I cannot recall recently retired generals who did so. Do you have a source?
I'm at work currently, but I'll se what I can dig up when I get back home.
For years I believed that Crowe was the "ultimate former flag officer swine." Along comes this character. Beneath contempt.
LOL!. Perhaps you should read Zinni's own words...where he takes full responsibility for making the decision which resulted in the Cole disaster...of course he's probably lying.
What do you suspect from the military genius who sent Cole sailors to their deaths...for political purposes.
Well, then this pompous ass should realize that he is encouraging the die-hard Islamic enemies of soldiers he used to command (under his mentor Clinton) and is now an asset to the enemy forces and their propaganda machine.
Doesn't loyalty mean anything to these media whores?
Go back and re-read my post...
I don't think the Zinni side would be quite so willing.
This is not a friggin game! A political tiff or a matter of opinion.
Not anymore...................
Your defense of that egotistical military disaster Zinni? Nothing new there.
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. You can't blame Zinni for CENTCOM's decision to order down support craft and not allow ANY weapons on the ready when the Cole came to berth.
Yes, HACKworth received medals in Vietnam also...then like Zinni he turned into a self-serving inflated ego uniform...who caused the deaths of our sailors for his political purposes.
Correction: We need Americans who aren't going to quit and run when the liberal media demands it. We need Americans to stand behind our troops and the leadership of them. We need Americans who will be more than media whores and sunshine patriots.
Zinni and his ilk saw the opportunity to do a Judas-job on the President and the troops -- then hurried to get his thirty pieces of silver.
Judas to the Sadducees: "That Jesus is just not leading this national movement like I want him to. It's time to do Him in!!"
Now, let's not put down this Judas (read Zinni), afterall he was the only disciple from the more educated Judean region and was so respected that he was the treasurer of the band of twelve.
LIE!
I knew you were a flamer, but not a blatant lier.
Interesting info on the Cole, Franks and Zinni. I didn't know any of it.
Thanks...I love being called names by you folks. It assures me I'm on the right path.
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