"Z" is for Zinni

[Gimpy]

Z is for Zinni


Aug. 2002: "Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni. . . said a war to bring down Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein would have numerous undesirable side effects. . . Zinni took a shot at the hawks, noting their lack of military experience. He ticked off several prominent military men who have expressed reservations about the war:. . .``It's pretty interesting that all the generals see it the same way, '' he said, ``and all the others who have never fired a shot and are hot to go to war see it another way.'' -- "[Gen. Zinni Says War With Iraq Is Unwise," the Tampa Tribune, Aug. 24, 2002]


Update: "In the lead up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility, at worse, lying, incompetence and corruption." -- [Gen. Anthony Zinni, Battle Ready, 2004.]

A Vietnam veteran, Zinni also sees parallels between Iraq and Vietnam. "We heard the garbage and the lies," he told a group of Marine Corps officers. "We saw the sacrifice, and we swore never again would we allow it to happen. . . And I ask you, is it happening again? "

Despite Donald Rumsfeld's denials, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara says, yes, it is. Citing Washington's inability to understand Iraqi culture, and, as a consequence, to foresee guerrilla war, he says that dismissal of allies' concerns was yet another mistake. "And if we can't persuade other nations with comparable values and comparable interests of the merit of our course, we should reconsider the course, and very likely change it," he said, echoing Zinni's assessment that "the course is headed over Niagara Falls."


Niagara Falls? Vietnam? It looks like the new right has made the same old mistakes, and has taken some disastrous wrong turns in the process.


Things are so bad, in fact, that retired Air Force colonel and former military planner Mike Turner says that if Bush stays in the White House, we will, in all probability, lose this war. "This war is an exercise in colossal stupidity and hubris which has now cost more than 1,000 American military lives," he wrote. "And now, in a supreme act of truly breathtaking gall, this administration insists the only way to fix Iraq is to leave in power the very ones who created the nightmare."

"It's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong," John Kerry said during last week's debate .


What will the future hold? In a month's time, we'll know.

Whatever the case...................General Zinni was RIGHT!