Sunday, April 16, 2006
That was then, this is now
Today's That-was-then-this-is-now award goes to General Anthony Zinni, the former CENTCOM chief-a-roni who is currently leading the pack of retired flaggers calling for Rumsfeld's head on a pike.
But here's Zinni himself, in his statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, back in the spring of 2000:
Finally, despite damage inflicted by Operation DESERT FOX strikes, Iraq has not forgone its missile and WMD programs and continues to resist the reintroduction of Uninited Nations arms inspectors...
While Iraq's WMD capabilities were degraded by UN supervision and set back by coalition airstrikes, some capabilities remain and others could quickly be regenerated. Despite claims that WMD efforts have ceased, Iraq probably is continuing clandestine nuclear research, retains stocks of chemical and biological munitions, and is concealing extended-range SCUD missliles, possibly equipped with CBW payloads. Even if Baghdad reversed its course and surrendered all WMD capabilities, it retains the scientific, technical, and industrial infrastructure to replace agents and munitions within weeks or months.
Iraq remains the most significant near-term threat to U.S. interests in the Arabian Gulf region [Heh. So much for the "no threat to us" lie. - JVS]
Iraq persists in its deliberate attempts to shoot down coalition aircraft...
I believe that Iraq is likely to remain a significant threat to the region for the foreseeable future.
Hat tip: American Thinker, via a Countercolumn reader. Much more here.
But here's Zinni himself, in his statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, back in the spring of 2000:
Finally, despite damage inflicted by Operation DESERT FOX strikes, Iraq has not forgone its missile and WMD programs and continues to resist the reintroduction of Uninited Nations arms inspectors...
While Iraq's WMD capabilities were degraded by UN supervision and set back by coalition airstrikes, some capabilities remain and others could quickly be regenerated. Despite claims that WMD efforts have ceased, Iraq probably is continuing clandestine nuclear research, retains stocks of chemical and biological munitions, and is concealing extended-range SCUD missliles, possibly equipped with CBW payloads. Even if Baghdad reversed its course and surrendered all WMD capabilities, it retains the scientific, technical, and industrial infrastructure to replace agents and munitions within weeks or months.
Iraq remains the most significant near-term threat to U.S. interests in the Arabian Gulf region [Heh. So much for the "no threat to us" lie. - JVS]
Iraq persists in its deliberate attempts to shoot down coalition aircraft...
I believe that Iraq is likely to remain a significant threat to the region for the foreseeable future.
Hat tip: American Thinker, via a Countercolumn reader. Much more here.
Comments:
To be fair, I do not see this as a counter argument at all. Yes he said those things...and he continues to say a very similar thing. His current statements seem to reflect the belief that there was containment.
His rebuke of Rumsfeld and the Bush administration is currently very similar to what I read at the start of OIF. That the plan was wrong. Yes...he argues(d) that we had containment and thus there was not an immediate threat. His point seems to clearly be that the plan and the execution was off. And for that I think it is very fair to hold the Sec. of Defense accountable.
Keep in mind that Zinni was the General running Centcom before Franks. He knew the area, knew the players, their capabilities...and knew our plans and our capabilites. To disregard that was a mistake. And I think that any criticism he may have for OIF, its planning, execution, and the planners is something that we should listen to.
cl
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His rebuke of Rumsfeld and the Bush administration is currently very similar to what I read at the start of OIF. That the plan was wrong. Yes...he argues(d) that we had containment and thus there was not an immediate threat. His point seems to clearly be that the plan and the execution was off. And for that I think it is very fair to hold the Sec. of Defense accountable.
Keep in mind that Zinni was the General running Centcom before Franks. He knew the area, knew the players, their capabilities...and knew our plans and our capabilites. To disregard that was a mistake. And I think that any criticism he may have for OIF, its planning, execution, and the planners is something that we should listen to.
cl
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