Gen. Zinni Says Containing Iraq Can Work

Yahoo News ^ | 10/10/02 | Reuters

[NormsRevenge]

Gen. Zinni Says Containing Iraq Can Work

Thu Oct 10, 1:05 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The former commander of U.S. forces in the Gulf spoke out on Thursday against attacking Iraq, saying a policy of containment would work and Washington had at least five higher priorities in the Middle East.

"I think this wolf (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)) can be left for another shot. There are plenty of wolves on the sled," said retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni.

"I'm not convinced we need to do this now. I believe he is ... containable at this moment," he told the annual meeting of the Middle East Institute, a Washington think-tank.

Zinni has been an outspoken critic of an attack on Iraq, and is familiar with Middle Eastern leaders and has been a mediator between Israelis and Palestinians.

Under the Democratic Clinton administration, Zinni was commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command, which runs American forces in the Middle East. The Republican Bush administration sent him to the Middle East to try to arrange a truce between Israel and the Palestinians.

Zinni said in his experience fighting rarely accomplished what politicians intended.

"If we look at this (attacking Iraq) as the beginning of a chain of events that means that we intend to do this through violent action, we're on the wrong course," he said.

"First of all, I don't see that that's necessary. Secondly, I think that war and violence are a very last resort and we have to be careful how we apply it, especially now, in our position in the world," he said.

He said the U.S. priorities in the Middle East should be putting Middle East peace talks back on track, ensuring that Iran continues to move toward reform, helping Afghanistan (news - web sites) and other central Asian states, patching up relations with Arab states and reopening dialogue with the people of the region.

"I would take those priorities before this one (Iraq). My personal view is I think this isn't number one, it's maybe sixth or seventh," he added.

[SunStar]

Gen. Zinni Says Containing Iraq Can Work

When? In twelve more years?

[VRWC_minion]

Would containment work if Saddam didn't think he had anything to fear as he has for the last 10 years ? I don't think so. And whose timetable should we be on if when we face the inevitable battle in the future ours or Saddam's ?

[logic101.net]

This guy is an idiot; or on the take. How do you "contain" some dictator with an A-bomb and a terrorist network? We have tried "containment" and "inspections" for 11 yrs (ok, inspections for only the first 7), where has it gotten us? More importantly, where has it gotten him? 4 yrs to develop his weapons program without interference!

MARK A SITY
http://www.logic101.net/

[flyer182]

What are you babbling about? Gen Zinni has questioned a strategy. I thought that was what good Generals were supposed to do before sending americans to get killed. What in the hell does 9/11 have to do with Iraq? Show the link?
Who said not to fight for americans? Pull your head out.

[desertcry]

zinni is just paying an installment for his promotion from a 1 star general to a 4 star general by the bent one. Quite
a promotion considering the job he has done for the USA during clinton's administration.

[desertcry]

This guy's timing is worst than gore It's perfect if it's a payback for his meteoric rise(1 star to 4 star general)during the clinton adm.

[desertcry]

.....zinni has questioned a strategy... Yeah zinni is a hot shot strategist, he showed this extra-ordinary abilities during the clinton adm.'s "fight" against osama.

[EternalHope]

This guy's timing is worse that Gore's.

Remember, he was selected for his previous position by Gore's boss.

A major part of the damage done to this nation by der Sinkmaster was at the General Officer level in our military. ALL general officer promotions have always required political approval. Slick's contribution was to put political correctness ahead of merit.

[The Great Satan]

In the penultimate paragraph Mylroie concludes: "Given how decisive America's defeat of Iraq seemed in 1991, Saddam has accomplished a significant part of his program. He has secured the critical goal of ending UN weapons inspections, and he is now free to rebuild an arsenal of unconventional armaments. he has also succeeded in thoroughly confusing America as to the nature of the terrorist threat it has faced since the World Trade Center bombing. He is free, it would appear, to carry out more terrorist attacks, possibly even unconventional terrorism, as long as he can make it appear to be the work of a loose network of Muslim extremists." And thus Laurie Mylroie predicts Saddam Hussein will continue to attack American citizens and interests. At a minimum, we should expect attempted bombings and other attacks in the year 2001 and beyond. And so, the question about Saddam Hussein remains, what is to be done?

The dust jacket of Study of Revenge lists laudatory comments from former Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard N. Perle, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeanne J. Kirkpatrick, former CIA chief of counterterrorism Vincent Cannistraro, and the former director of the New York FBI Office James M. Fox. And these comments are well-earned. Study of Revenge reads well and it sets a new high standard for investigative literature; it is the product of thorough and painstaking research, and its conclusions are sobering.

Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, January, 2001

More Praise for Study of Revenge

THE WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMB: Who is Ramzi Yousef? and Why It Matters
by Laurie Milroy, The National Interest, Winter 1995/1996

[The Great Satan]

Who sent the anthrax, Admiral?

[VaBthang4]

No wonder this drip was passed over.

A complete moron who oversaw the Middle East while Clinton was in office. Need I say more.

Semper Fi....unless it isnt politically expedient huh? Nitwit.

[Bill Davis FR]

zinni is a hillary and billary butt kisser...

[flyer182]

Yeah, next time the 4 star should tell the president to stick it and take over and then he can be in charge. Yeah! You couldn't lick the shi+ from that Marine's boots.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

27 ships safely refueled in Aden before the Cole was attacked. Zinni went on terminal leave in July of 2000 and retired on 1 September, 42 days before the Cole was attacked. If his succesor at CENTCOM thought that Aden was unsafe he had three months after Zinni left to change the policy. He didn't.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Zinni spoke out against it in August. Some people don't pay attention.

[flyer182]

Yes, he was so effed up that bush jr picked him to be his middle east envoy. Get over Clinton.

[WOSG]

Good answer... these anti-attack-Iraq folks are not thinking strategically.

[flyer182]

So that was strategy?

[EternalHope]

Yes, he was so effed up that bush jr picked him to be his middle east envoy. Get over Clinton.

Zinni was picked because it was believed the Arabs would see him as a sympathetic envoy. The hope was that an envoy they thought was sympathetic to their side would lead them to be reasonable. Didn't work.

What I said about Clinton stands.

[colorado tanker]

My impression is that Gen. Zinni has failed to appreciate the threat that grew during his tenure at CENTCOM both from Al Qaeda and Iraq. His present advice that the top U.S. priority in the region should be negotiating a peace treaty for Palestinian indepedence seems almost comically rooted in the past and out of touch with present realities. Yemen has been notorious for its violence and instability since the departure of the British from Aden. Combine with that the Al Qaeda presence in the ancestral homeland of the Bin Laden clan and I just can't fathom what motivated the decision to move refueling to Aden without a truly robust security presence.

I respect your service and opinions. Do you think I'm being unfair in criticising Gen. Zinni?