Maybe his service was not as honorably as the author would hope.
Gen Zinni is one of the finest general officers I have known or served under.
I would follow him in combat any day
I would also trust him to make the operational decisions in any war.
Strategic decisions are the relam of the NSC and ultimately, the president.
Had Zinni been CINCCENT he would have probably advised against the campaign (Al-La Yamamoto at Pearl Harbor) and then taken his orders and prosecuted it brilliantly
As it was we were micromanaged by OSD to the point of distraction
We've come as far as we have IN SPITE of Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and all the OSD crowd. Not because of them.
I disagree with Zinni on his position about the strategic timing of the war
But I know his position is well considered and thoughtful. He's 40/60 against, I'm 60/40 for
Having reached Baghdad right behind the 3ID and spent a good deal of time in liberated Iraq, I can say that we did a good thing and most Iraqis appreciate it.
But we made a lot of mistakes in both the prosecution of the war and especially in the postwar stand up of OCPA and the reliance on contractors
All of which was OSD (Rumsfeld - Wolfowitz) driven.
If the military had been left in charge we'd be a lot farther along now
Worst micromanagement from OSD since McNamara
I was so happy when Bush got elected. Finally, I'd thought we'll get some adults in the pentagon instead of these dillitante amateurs
Instead I find all we did was trade cowardly dillitante amateurs for bellicose dillitante amateurs
I'll vote for Bush again, we've absolutely no choice, but I'll feel a whole lot better if he ditches his OSD crew
The people on this thread who say insulting things about Gen Zinni malign a good man.
All the best
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