Stirring

Retired General admits regrets over Iraq war…those were the headlines. And the general is Marine Corps Lt. General Gregory Newbold. In an essay published on Sunday, he expressed regret that he did not more energetically question those who had ordered the nation to war. Then he urged active duty officers to speak out if they had doubts about the war. To top it off, he also called for replacing Donald Rumsfeld and “many other unwilling to fundamentally change their approach.”

The essay, which runs in Time magazine this week, has some other memorable statements from General Newbold. “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 Qaida.” He also wrote, “The decision to invade Iraq was done with a casualness and a swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions – or bury the results.”

Those darn Marines! Ya know, he could have just retired and rode off into the sunset. But nooooo! He has to stir things up.