Iraq, Afghanistan, war and Bush

http://www.votevets.org

General Batiste: "Mr. President, you did not listen"

Gen. William Odom writes that opponents of the war should focus public attention on the fact that Bush’s obstinate refusal to admit defeat is causing the troops enormous psychological as well as physical harm. No U.S. forces have ever been compelled to stay in sustained combat conditions for as long as the Army units have in Iraq. In World War II, soldiers were considered combat-exhausted after about 180 days in the line. They were withdrawn for rest periods.

Lt. General GREGORY NEWBOLD, Retired: 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.

General Eaton's Letter to President Bush on Veto: Today, in your veto message regarding the bipartisan legislation just passed on Operation Iraqi Freedom, you asserted that you so decided because you listen to your commanders on the ground. Respectfully, as your former commander on the ground, your administration did not listen to our best advice. In fact, a number of my fellow Generals were forced out of their jobs, because they did not tell you what you wanted to hear -- most notably General Eric Shinseki, whose foresight regarding troop levels was advice you rejected, at our troops' peril.

Retired General Anthony Zinni : Zinni broke ranks with the administration over the war in Iraq, and now, in his harshest criticism yet, he says senior officials at the Pentagon are guilty of dereliction of duty -- and that the time has come for heads to roll.

General Joseph Hoar, 1991-1994: "Paul Wolfowitz is a very bright guy, but he doesn't know anything about war-fighting, and I suspect he knows less about counterinsurgency operations....I think that the neo-conservatives had their day, by selling to the President the need for invasion of Iraq. I think it's now time for a clean sweep—and it has been for some time, in my judgment—to get rid of these people."

General Tommy Franks, 2000-2003: Doug Feith is "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth."

General Anthony Zinni, USMC,(Ret.) : "we had to create a false rationale for going in to get public support. The books were cooked, in my mind. The intelligence was not there. I testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee one month before the war, and Senator Lugar asked me: "General Zinni, do you feel the threat from Saddam Hussein is imminent?" I said: "No, not at all. It was not an imminent threat. Not even close. Not grave, gathering, imminent, serious, severe, mildly upsetting, none of those."

General David Richards: "Afghanistan close to anarchy"

Army War College: "BUSH LOST TWO WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WITH THE BEST MILITARY ON EARTH"

Even the British Generals had a few things to say:

Iraq war cost years of progress in Afghanistan - UK brigadier Commander echoes criticism of Blair's foreign policy by head of army

Maj. Gen. Tim Cross, the most senior British officer involved in the postwar planning, said he had raised serious concerns about the possibility of Iraq falling into chaos but said former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed the warnings.

Retired Gen. Sir Mike Jackson also singled out Rumsfeld for criticism, saying his approach to the invasion was "intellectually bankrupt."

BUSH WAS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS IN 1997
CHENEY WAS CEO OF HALLIBURTON IN TEXAS 1997
TOM DELAY REPRESENTED SURGARLAND TEXAS
HAMID KARZAI & ZALMAY KHALILZAD WERE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS OF UNOCAL OIL IN TEXAS AND BUSH PICKED THEM FOR PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN & AMBASSADOR OF IRAQ AND UNITED NATIONS.

Taleban in Texas for talks on gas pipeline
Thursday, December 4, 1997
A senior delegation from the Taleban movement in Afghanistan is in the United States for talks with an international energy company that wants to construct a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan.



Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.
Benito Mussolini