My fellow Ranterâs, I have know idea who this General is, so I am asking my fellow Ranterâs if anyone is in the know about this guy. Is this guy a bitter old General who did not get a chance to play with the modern US Military? Are we not surprised that this is another part of Viacomâs attack on the President? Are we not sick of this relentless attack on the President? Or is this something the whole country will be consumed with as a legitimate concern? Please, help me to understand the reason for this bitter tirade? Does this not sound a little bit anti-Semitic?
| Zinni's criticism of the Iraq war seems grounded in his assessment of the situation. I was surprised to see the extent of it, but he's been against the war since before we invaded. I understand he's a good man, though, despite his belief in the UN. He played the part of Sysiphus in the last actual round of shuttle diplomacy with the Paleos. Unfashionable as it was at the time, he referred to Yasser as an "unreformed liar," to a predictable chorus of gasps, fainting spells, and similar attacks of the vapors... |
Accusing top Pentagon officials of "dereliction of duty," retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni says staying the course in Iraq isnât a reasonable option. "The course is headed over Niagara Falls. I think itâs 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 donât believe weâre there now, and I wouldnât 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 hadnât 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 theyâve screwed up, and whose heads are rolling on this?" 
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