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James Webb was secretary of the Navy during the Reagan administration, and a Marine platoon and company commander in Vietnam. He also is an author and filmmaker. Posted 2/18/2004 8:03 PM USA TODAY

Bush arguably has committed the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory. To put it bluntly, he attacked the wrong target. While he boasts of removing Saddam Hussein from power, he did far more than that. He decapitated the government of a country that was not directly threatening the United States and, in so doing, bogged down a huge percentage of our military in a region that never has known peace. Our military is being forced to trade away its maneuverability in the wider war against terrorism while being placed on the defensive in a single country that never will fully accept its presence.
There is no historical precedent for taking such action when our country was not being directly threatened. The reckless course that Bush and his advisers have set will affect the economic and military energy of our nation for decades. It is only the tactical competence of our military that, to this point, has protected him from the harsh judgment that he deserves.
At the same time, those around Bush, many of whom came of age during Vietnam and almost none of whom served, have attempted to assassinate the character and insult the patriotism of anyone who disagrees with them. Some have impugned the culture, history and integrity of entire nations, particularly in Europe, that have been our country's great friends for generations and, in some cases, for centuries.
Bush has yet to fire a single person responsible for this strategy. Nor has he reined in those who have made irresponsible comments while claiming to represent his administration. One only can conclude that he agrees with both their methods and their message.

There is no historical precedent for taking such action when our country was not being directly threatened.

Actually, there is. Klintoon, while gutting our military, also ordered more military actions than any other president since WWII, and for less reason. Was Haiti a threat to us? Kosovo? Bosnia? A Sudanese aspirin factory? Yet the same liberals who are screaming that the action in Iraq is unjustified were, back then, very self-satisified about it all. In fact, I read a quote from the time, saying that nothing is more noble than using the military in such a way that the United States does not benefit from its use at all.

It's a good thing for liberals that we're all such stupid idiots. Otherwise, we might be able to figure out that their arguments are designed for the situation at hand and have no long-term consistency. If we were to figure that out, we wouldn't be convinced by their superior intellect!