[CTRL] On Conservative Opposition to the Iraq War (Justin Raimondo)

[Sean McBride]

Title: Going AWOL, by Justin Raimondo

-Caveat Lector- http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j120503.html   December 5, 2003   ... The troops are supported and empathized with: the policy, however, is increasingly opposed by the overwhelming majority of the American people. A whopping 71 percent say the Iraq war hasn't made them safer from terrorism. Our men and women in uniform, by voting with their feet, are merely reflecting the views of the fellows, who increasingly look on the war to "liberate" Iraq as a pipe-dream founded on a lie. While the War Party loves to point to the far-left "International ANSWER" coalition, responsible for many of the rallies, as the heart and soul of the antiwar opposition, the earliest and most effective opponents of this war were senior military officers. The military wing of the antiwar opposition, like the conservative-Old Right wing, has been less showy in its opposition, yet potentially far more subversive of the War Party's policies. People like General Anthony Zinni, retired Marine Colonel Larry Williams, former Navy secretary James Webb, retired Marine commander Joseph P. Hoar, and the most decorated soldier of the Vietnam war era, Colonel David Hackworth – all opposed the war on the grounds that an American occupation of Iraq would be a disaster. The civilians who plumbed for an invasion didn't listen to them, nor did they listen to General Eric Shinseki, former Army chief of staff, who warned that they couldn't stitch Iraq back together again without 200,000 armed nation-builders. When Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld heard this, he went ballistic: the Pentagon's neocon-in-chief, Paul Wolfowitz, made a point of publicly attacking Shinseki's estimate as "wildly off the mark." Now we are seeing the officers' rebellion against a policy of imperialism taking shape in the ranks, as Army reservists, called up in record numbers, are refusing to be coerced into returning to Iraq early. ...   www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om