In a speech highly critical of the war in Iraq, retired Marine General Anthony Zinni told a packed house at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy that they must decisively choose a course of action in that conflict.
Zinni, a former four-star general and head of the United States Central Command, delivered the annual Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture Monday to a crowd of approximately 250, focusing on past failures, the present situation and the future.
"This argument over 23,000 troops is absurd," Zinni said, referring to plans for a troop surge. "Either you fix it, you contain it or you leave it, and none of those is going to be easy. But make up your damn mind."
The Vietnam War veteran and officer of 40 years said Iraq is only one symptom of an overall failure of U.S. policy makers to adapt to the challenges of a new, post-Cold War world. He pointed to sweeping changes and policies adopted after World War II as a model.
"We need vision, we need leadership," Zinni said. "There was a time in our history when we had that-[President Harry] Truman and [Secretary of State George] Marshall understood that the conditions that existed in the world would only lead to conflict if they were left as they were."
In addition, he said, the United States needs to craft a unified strategy for problems in the Middle East, which he said cannot be dealt with as individual, isolated cases.
But Zinni said that for him, the most personal effect of mishandling of the war was the sense of intimidation created among top military leadership.
He used the firing of Gen. Eric Shinseki, who voiced public concerns about troop levels in plans for Iraq, as an example.
Under President Bill Clinton, Defense Secretary William Cohen and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Henry Shelton both encouraged generals to speak frankly if they had any concerns, Zinni said.
"If we don't have that kind of healthy exchange, then we're doomed to face the same failures we do today," he said.
Zinni added that some of the failures that occurred in the aftermath of the war could have been avoided by listening to those leaders.
For one thing, he said, contrary to government statements, containment had severely weakened Saddam Hussein's regime. For another, Zinni said entirely new plans were drawn up, ignoring those to which he had contributed as head of the Central Command.
"I was shocked to see that 10 years of planning were cast aside by this Pentagon and this administration," he said. "I was also shocked to see the intelligence blown out of proportion."
Throughout, Zinni avoided making overtly partisan political statements and never mentioned President George W. Bush. In response to audience questions, he said he had no plans to run for office and named only Colin Powell as a potential good leader for the nation.
"It's time to end the red state-blue state bullshit," Zinni said. "It's time to end the politicization."
After the speech, many audience members lined up to have Zinni sign copies of his 2004 memoir "Battle Ready."
"I think he spoke the truth and it was very heartfelt and came from years of experience," said Chapel Hill resident Sam Osborne, a student in Duke's adult education Master of Liberal Studies program.
Shawn Plunkett, a second-year graduate student in theology, said he found the speech inspiring and insightful.
"The strength of his position rests not on making this a partisan issue, but upon making it an issue of truth-telling," he said. "I also liked his copious use of 'bullshit.'"
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