WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A former U.S. Central Command chief who still consults for the State Department criticized the Bush administration's handling of postwar Iraq.
"There is no strategy or mechanism for putting the pieces together," retired Marine Gen. Anthony C. Zinni said in a speech Thursday, according to the Washington Post. As a consequence, the ex-general said, "We're in danger of failing."
In a speech to Marine and Navy officers and others, Zinni invoked the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. "My contemporaries, our feelings and sensitivities were forged on the battlefields of Vietnam, where we heard the garbage and the lies, and we saw the sacrifice," said Zinni, who was severely wounded while serving in that war.
"I ask you, is it happening again?"
Zinni's comments were surprising, since he endorsed President Bush in the 2000 presidential election and serves as an adviser to the State Department on anti-terror initiatives. He preceded Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks as chief of the U.S. Central Command, the headquarters for activities in Iraq and the Middle East.
