In Time magazine in 2006, retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold wrote:
"In 1971, . . . 'The Who' released the antiwar anthem 'Won't Get Fooled Again.' To most in my generation, the song conveyed a sense of betrayal by the nation's leaders, who had led our country into a costly and unnecessary war in Vietnam. To those of us who were truly counterculture - who became career members of the military during those rough times - the song conveyed a very different message. To us, its lyrics evoked a feeling that we must never again stand by quietly while those ignorant of and casual about war led us into another one and then mismanaged the conduct of it. Never again, we thought, would our military's senior leaders remain silent as American troops were marched off to an ill-considered engagement. It's 35 years later, and the judgment is in: 'The Who' had it wrong. We have been fooled again.
"From 2000 until October 2002, I was a Marine Corps Lieutenant General and Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After 9/11, I was a witness and therefore a party to the actions that led us to the invasion of Iraq - an unnecessary war. Inside the military family, I made no secret of my view that the zealots' rationale for war made no sense. And I think I was outspoken enough to make those senior to me uncomfortable.
"But I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat - al-Qaeda. I retired from the military four months before the invasion, in part because of my opposition to those who had used 9/11's tragedy to hijack our security policy. Until now, I have resisted speaking out in public. I've been silent long enough."
Ed. note: Lt. Gen. Newbold is NOT among the Flag and General officers who have endorsed Senator Clinton.
Although not included in the excerpt submitted, Lt. Gen. Newbold continued:
"Before the antiwar banners start to unfurl, however, let me make clear - I am not opposed to war. I would gladly have traded my general's stars for a captain's bars to lead our troops into Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban and al-Qaeda. And while I don't accept the stated rationale for invading Iraq, my view - at the moment - is that a precipitous withdrawal would be a mistake.
"It would send a signal, heard around the world, that would reinforce the jihadists' message that America can be defeated, and thus increase the chances of future conflicts. . . .
"I will admit my own prejudice: my deep affection and respect are for those who volunteer to serve our nation and therefore shoulder, in those thin ranks, the nation's most sacred obligation of citizenship.
"To those of you who don't know, our country has never been served by a more competent and professional military."
iraq clinton by: Anonymous
Flag Officers Endorsing Hillary Clinton for President
General Wesley Clark General Johnnie E. Wilson Admiral William Owens Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard Lt. Gen. Claudia J. Kennedy Lt. Gen. Frederick E. Vollrath Vice Admiral Joseph A. Sestak Major General George A. Buskirk, Jr. Major General Paul D. Eaton Major General Antonio M. Taguba Rear Admiral David Stone Brigadier General Michael Dunn Brigadier General Belisario Flores Brigadier General Evelyn "Pat" Foote Brigadier General John M. Watkins, Jr. Brigadier General Jack Yeager
Ed.note: Additional names were on this list as submitted, but no reference was cited and we were unable to verify them on Senator Clinton's campaign website. We have therefore deleted the names we were unable to verify. If you'd like to submit the list again, with a link we can use to verify it, we'll be happy to add them.
(Due to the restriction on length of comments, the remainder of Anonymous' submission is continued in the next comment.)
More than 100 Flag and General Officers Supporting McCain by: Janet
Thank you, Admiral, for your comments. We appreciate your taking the time to share them with us.
