"War was a mistake!" says Clancy and a General

[sMiLeYz]

Apparently, reverends aren't the only ones changing their minds...

That same writer said he almost "came to blows" with a leading war supporter, former Pentagon adviser Richard Perle.

The author is Tom Clancy.

The hawkish master of such million-selling thrillers as "Patriot Games" and "The Hunt for Red October" now finds himself adding to the criticism of the Iraq war, and not only through his own comments.

...

Zinni has openly attacked the war, but Clancy reluctantly acknowledged his own concerns. He declined repeatedly to comment on the war, before saying that it lacked a "casus belli," or suitable provocation.

"It troubles me greatly to say that, because I've met President Bush," Clancy said. "He's a good guy. ... I think he's well-grounded, both morally and philosophically. But good men make mistakes."

....

But even as an envoy, Zinni spoke out against invading Iraq, regarding it as disastrous for Middle East peace and a distraction from the war against terrorism. On Monday, he said getting rid of Saddam Hussein was not worth the price.

"He's a bad guy. He's a terrible guy and he should go," Zinni said. "But I don't think it's worth 800 troops dead, 4,500 wounded -- some of them terribly -- $200 billion of our treasury and counting, and our reputation and our image in the world, particularly in that region, shattered."

...

Both Clancy and Zinni praised President Bush but would not commit to voting for him. Clancy said that voting for Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats' presumptive nominee, would be "a stretch for me," but wouldn't say that he was supporting Bush.

Zinni, a registered Republican who voted for Bush in 2000, said he could not support the president's re-election "if the current strategists in the defense department are going to be carried over."

CNN

 

[conjur]

Mathews brought up that book on tonight's Hardball...repeated in about an hour on MSNBC.

But, I guess Zinni is just another book panderer. Another conservative turned traitor.

 

[sMiLeYz]

Theres alot of these conservatives turning on Bush...

 

[Tab]

A opinion any conservative or liberial can respect

 

[AcidicFury]

Originally posted by: sMiLeYz
Theres alot of these conservatives turning on Bush...

I wonder why...

 

[Perknose]

I'd love to hear how CAD & Co. will directly confront Tom Clancy.

 

[Zephyr106]

Originally posted by: AcidicFury

Originally posted by: sMiLeYz
Theres alot of these conservatives turning on Bush...

I wonder why...

Gasp maybe because he's not too conservative on certain issues.

Zephyr

 

[Dari]

I don't know about clancy, but I saw Zinni's 60 Minutes piece. He was mostly right...about the execution of the war and its aftermath. Even I was surprised when they disbanded the Iraqi army. It made no sense. Nevertheless, Iraq couldn't remain under sanctions forever. Hussein had to go.

Zinni's reference about the war not being a General's war but one trumped up by civilian is fairly accureate. Generals are trained to fight (mainly) defensive wars. Bringing down a nation that has violated various international treaties and resolutions is a civilian/diplomatic affair.

As for all these people that are against the war, let's not forget that most Americans were against entering World War II, despite all the horror stories coming out of Eastern Europe and Germany. It was only after we were attacked that this country decided to liberate Europe. Hypocrites cannot have their cake and eat it too. You cannot complain about US inaction then whine about our actions when the means, not the end, is what differentiate the two sides.