Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

A Former Marine General Lets Rip

In 1971, the rock group The Who released the antiwar
anthem Won't Get Fooled Again. To most in my generation, the song conveyed
a sense of betrayal by the nation's leaders, who had led our country into
a costly and unnecessary war in Vietnam. To those of us who were truly counterculture–who
became career members of the military during those rough times–the song conveyed
a very different message. To us, its lyrics evoked a feeling that we must
never again stand by quietly while those ignorant of and casual about war
lead us into another one and then mismanage the conduct of it. Never again,
we thought, would our military's senior leaders remain silent as American
troops were marched off to an ill-considered engagement. It's 35 years later,
and the judgment is in: the Who had it wrong. We have been fooled again.

From 2000 until October 2002, I was a Marine Corps
lieutenant general and director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
After 9/11, I was a witness and therefore a party to the actions that led
us to the invasion of Iraq–an unnecessary war. Inside the military family,
I made no secret of my view that the zealots' rationale for war made no sense.
And I think I was outspoken enough to make those senior to me uncomfortable.
But I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined
to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat–al-Qaeda.
I retired from the military four months before the invasion, in part because
of my opposition to those who had used 9/11's tragedy to hijack our security
policy. Until now, I have resisted speaking out in public. I've been silent
long enough.

I am driven to action now by the missteps and misjudgments
of the White House and the Pentagon, and by my many painful visits to our
military hospitals. In those places, I have been both inspired and shaken
by the broken bodies but unbroken spirits of soldiers, Marines and corpsmen
returning from this war. The cost of flawed leadership continues to be paid
in blood. The willingness of our forces to shoulder such a load should make
it a sacred obligation for civilian and military leaders to get our defense
policy right. They must be absolutely sure that the commitment is for a cause
as honorable as the sacrifice.

With the encouragement of some still in positions of
military leadership, I offer a challenge to those still in uniform: a leader's
responsibility is to give voice to those who can't–or don't have the opportunity
to–speak. Enlisted members of the armed forces swear their oath to those
appointed over them; an officer swears an oath not to a person but to the
Constitution. The distinction is important.

Why
Iraq Was a Mistake
A military insider sounds off against the war and the “zealots” who
pushed it
(h/t Americablog)

I'm with retired Lieut. General Greg Newbold. Afghanistan was
worth whatever price had to be paid. That he also takes out after Condoleezza
Rice endears me further to the man. But it's the closer that's the kicker.

To be sure, the Bush Administration and
senior military officials are not alone in their culpability. Members of Congress–from
both parties–defaulted in fulfilling their constitutional responsibility
for oversight. Many in the media saw the warning signs and heard cautionary
tales before the invasion from wise observers like former Central Command
chiefs Joe Hoar and Tony Zinni but gave insufficient weight to their views.
These are the same news organizations that now downplay both the heroic and
the constructive in Iraq.

So what is to be done? We need fresh ideas and fresh
faces. That means, as a first step, replacing Rumsfeld and many others unwilling
to fundamentally change their approach. The troops in the Middle East have
performed their duty. Now we need people in Washington who can construct a
unified strategy worthy of them. It is time to send a signal to our nation,
our forces and the world that we are uncompromising on our security but are
prepared to rethink how we achieve it. It is time for senior military leaders
to discard caution in expressing their views and ensure that the President
hears them clearly. And that we won't be fooled again.