[Poohbah]

Zinni ordered the USS Cole to refuel in Yemen instead of refueling underway, and gave a lot of advance notice to the Yemeni government (and, hence, to al-Qaeda). He then opposed any retaliation for the attack on the Cole, stating that it would annoy the Pakistanis.

He now is a director in a Pakistani telecommunications venture.

He got his golden parachute. All it cost was 17 American sailors.

[Petronski]

Poohbah, your post says it all. I hope you won't mind if I repost:

Zinni ordered the USS Cole to refuel in Yemen instead of refueling underway, and gave a lot of advance notice to the Yemeni government (and, hence, to al-Qaeda). He then opposed any retaliation for the attack on the Cole, stating that it would annoy the Pakistanis.

He now is a director in a Pakistani telecommunications venture.

He got his golden parachute. All it cost was 17 American sailors.