Washington – The three- star Marine Corps general who was the military’s top operations officer before the invasion of Iraq expressed regret, in an essay published Sunday, that he did not more energetically question those who had ordered the nation to war. He also urged active-duty officers to speak out now if they had doubts about the war.
Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, who retired in 2002, also called for replacing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and “many others unwilling to fundamentally change their approach.”
In the essay, in this week’s issue of Time magazine, Newbold wrote, “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.”
The decision to invade Iraq “was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions – or bury the results,” Newbold wrote.
While he does not accept the rationale for the war, he wrote that “a precipitous withdrawal would be a mistake” because it would say “America can be defeated, and thus increase the chances of future conflicts.”
Some active-duty officers attribute their silence on the issue to respect for civilian control of the military, as set in the Constitution, but some also say it would be professional suicide to speak up.