-Caveat Lector- http://buffalonews.com/editorial/20030404/1025897.asp CANISIUS COLLEGE 'The wrong war at the wrong time,' former Mideast envoy maintains By ANTHONY VIOLANTI News Staff Reporter 4/4/2003
Click to view larger picture DEREK GEE/Buffalo News "I had grave reservations" about the war, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni said. America may be on the threshold of military victory in Iraq, but that hasn't changed Anthony Zinni's feelings against the war. "This is in fact the wrong war at the wrong time," the retired Marine general said Thursday night at Canisius College. Zinni was head of Central Command until Gen. Tommy Franks took over nearly three years ago. Zinni had served as President Bush's peace envoy to the Middle East until this month, when he spoke out against the war. "I had grave reservations about this whole undertaking and expressed those," Zinni said. "That's one reason why I'm no longer the Middle East envoy. "We have to look for solutions that can come about without military action," Zinni said during the William H. Fitzpatrick Lecture at Canisius. "We're applying military action to places where it isn't necessary. I don't think the American people will stand for a series of wars like this." What happens in the coming days in Baghdad will play a huge role in determining the future of Iraq and the Arab world, he said. "The endpoint of this war and how Baghdad goes down is going to be critical," Zinni said. "We have not won the hearts and minds of the people in Iraq. We're going to have to finish this in a way that does not create a lot of death and destruction but at the same time does not make us look weak. "We cannot give Iraqi soldiers who are willing to die, a reason to fight on the streets of Baghdad for anything other than (President Saddam Hussein). If they suddenly find a cause like Arab pride, nationalism or standing up to the West, and they feel encouragement and support by others, then they may fight to the death. That would be a cost to both sides that would be disastrous to the region." Understanding the Arab mind-set has been difficult for the United States. The biggest mistake the United States made in the war, Zinni said, was speaking of "shock and awe." "That was a way to say: "Your fate is inevitable. We're going to crush you. The might of America will defeat you. Just surrender and throw down your arms.' "You don't speak to Arab pride and Arab manhood in this way. That whole psychological business gave them another cause to fight for, more than they would have fought just for Saddam." Zinni said everything in the Iraq war will climax in what he called "the moment." "That moment will be when the region, the country and the world realizes Saddam is gone. It will be a moment of decision. There will be tremendous mixed emotions in the Islamic and Arab world," he said. "On one hand, they will be glad we rid them of Saddam. On the other hand, there will be great apprehension about this world power that bullied its way in, ignored international arguments and has now decided to impose a form of government on this country. "That moment could change everything and could give us a fresh start. That part of the world will be holding its breath and waiting for the next step." Zinni said it will be "a monumental task" to transform Iraq into a democracy. "Whatever the outcome of that task is how this war of intervention will be judged," he said. It is also vital, Zinni said, to deal with the Middle East peace process between the Palestinians and Israel. "The people in this region are desperate for this problem to be gone," he said. "Only one organization, nation and entity in the world can broker this problem: the United States." It was the United States that used the term "pre-emptive war" with Iraq, and that bothers Zinni. "I think it was a mistake to make that statement and put it in our national security strategy and make it an overt policy," he said. One thing Zinni praises about the war is the skill of U.S. military personnel. "Thank God for our fine young men and women," he said. "They carried the day. 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