Replies

General Ninny shooting off his mouth again. Wasn't he the failed ME envoy that his failed boss (Powell) used?

This is the kind of Marine that makes you wonder how he made through his career without being fragged!

Watch an honorable man get skinned alive for daring to speak a bit of the truth.

Zinni is a good man........who didnt get the job he wanted.

Where's that cartoon ... "Is it Vietnam yet?"

Jeez, Louise, mankind has had 10,000 wars, try to be a bit more original in your analogies.

Frankly, why isnt this more like Phillipines 1903? Or Germany 1945? Or Greece 1949?

Interesting. It's the WaPost, of course, and all about Gen. Zinni's "impassioned" speech and opinions...the reported reaction of the "several hundred officers and others" in attendance is at the very end:

Zinni's comments to the joint meeting in Arlington of the U.S. Naval Institute and the Marine Corps Association, two professional groups for officers, were greeted warmly by his audience, with prolonged applause at the end. Some officers bought tapes and compact discs of the speech to give to others.

Tapes and compact discs?! Professional officers' groups? They can report this of course, but it's just a thinly disguised "puff piece" on Zinni, (the "reformed" EX-supporter of President Bush...how convEEENient!) and a "hit piece" on Bush! Wonder what the reactions of the rest of the military (aside from the mentioned groups) would've been to this speech?

"Retired General alert", indeed, and quite possibly add "targeted audience alert"...no offense to the majority of retired generals like McInerny and his ilk, or to any "professional officers' groups"! There's always a couple of the Zinni ilk that the big media can't wait to "cover", and I suppose even "polite applause" as well as "some" (?) purchases (he's a General, after all!) can be construed as unrestrained enthusiasm and endorsement of Zinni's views...(coming next..."Armed Forces start campaign to draft Wesley Clark for President"...LOL!!)

He also questioned the Bush administration's decision in January to have the Pentagon oversee postwar efforts in Iraq. "Why the hell would the Department of Defense be the organization in our government that deals with the reconstruction of Iraq?" he asked. "Doesn't make sense."

And yet everything we have seen has shown the Dept of State to be compromised and foolhardy and incapable of standing up for US sovereinty. (I forgot her name - but the Dept of State assistant to Garner who did so many destructive things the first month; thank God we got Bremer in there, he seems to be doing much much better.

Newt Gingrich's critiques of the Dept of State were correct. When Powell goes, we should put Newt in charge and fix that broken institution. Most of the 'pros' at state have been none-too-helpful.

He also fails to note that if you take him at his word, the conflict is still on. As such, why is it so bad to have DoD involved and leading, when security is job #1?

In addition, he criticized the administration for not working earlier and harder to win a U.N. resolution that several nations have indicated is a prerequisite to their contributing peacekeeping troops to help in Iraq. "We certainly blew past the U.N.," he said. "Why, I don't know. Now we're going back hat in hand."

Wow, what a mischaracterization - the UN blew past *us* and ignrod our valiant efforts to pay attention and enforce 1441. If we waited for the UN, Saddam would be in power now. We *did* go to the UN, in May (remember that folks?) and got a resolution, yet the UN again (and France etc.) wanted to do as little as possible and undermine us as much as possible. ... It is quite aggravating to see Bush *again* get blamed for the duplicity and hamhandedness of our 'allies' like France ... we are not "hat in hand" now, either. If the UN can help constructively, we will take it - we've been saying that since *April*. If they cant, we will keep plugging away.

IMHO, most criticisms here are backseat driving using the biased media's slant as 'truth'; 20/20 hindsight and all that. To be fair, I am reading this in the comPost, and Zinni may have been more balanced in his speech than these selective blame-thrower quotes.

General Zinny is a new age, touchy-feely, PC, Politican PUSSY. He's not a Marine, he's a poser. How do I know? I served on his staff on Camp Pendleton in California.

He's cut from the same liberal, bleating, nipple tilting, milk-toast, bolt of cloth as Wesley Clark. I worked for women generals who were tougher than him. (General Carol Mutter comes to mind. She was tough.)

America has somehow produced a generation of generals who will now say and do anything to avoid going into harm's way. Patton, Chesty, Nimitz, and Lemay (Among many other great American Military leaders) are spinning in their graves listening to these Political Pimps.

Screw General Zinni. Someone please take take the last report from the Base re-allignment and closure commission, roll it up, and jam it in his mouth. He and his ilk joyfully lined up to ascribe to the BRACC. Even the Densest PFC knew closing bases would "enhance training" let alone make America safer. Yet asshole generals like clark and zinni bent over backwards to claim it would.

130 MAJOR military bases were closed during the Clintonista regime. Meanwhile millions of disabled Vet's who relied on those bases were displaced and forced to travel great distances for the benefits they earned, or were forced to buy their own health care for combat and service related injuries.

Meanwhile, during the same time training actually PLUMMETED. Our field traing was reduced from us deploying the entire unit to a foreign friendly nation, and defending that nation from a simulated foe, to moving our desks outside our offices (and passing the phone outside the windows so as not to wast radio batteries.) How does that help us win wars?

Screw General Zinni.

Morning bump