General Zinni

To provide some balance, let's take a closer look at Donald Rumsfeld critic General Anthony Zinni.

On December 31, 2003, Joel Mowbray wrote an interesting column that shows a different side of Zinni.

(Excerpts)

Discussing the Iraq war with the Washington Post last week, former General Anthony Zinni took the path chosen by so many anti-Semites: he blamed it on the Jews.

Neither President Bush nor Vice-President Cheney—nor for that matter Zinni's old friend, Secretary of State Colin Powell—was to blame. It was the Jews. They "captured" both Bush and Cheney, and Powell was merely being a "good soldier."

Technically, the former head of the Central Command in the Middle East didn't say "Jews." He instead used a term that has become a new favorite for anti-Semites: "neoconservatives." As the name implies, "neoconservative" was originally meant to denote someone who is a newcomer to the right. In the 90's, many people self-identified themselves as "neocons," but today that term has become synonymous with "Jews."

...Given that the "neocons" do not control the Departments of State or Defense nor the National Security Council—gentiles all head those agencies—and given that the White House is clearly run by non-Jews, how is it that Zinni claims that the "neocons" were responsible for the U.S. liberating Iraq? As he explains to the Post, "Somehow, the neocons captured the president. They captured the vice president."

And the Post piece uses dramatic language when discussing Zinni's views on the "neocons":

"The more he listened to Wolfowitz and other administration officials talk about Iraq, the more Zinni became convinced that interventionist 'neoconservative' ideologues were plunging the nation into a war in a part of the world they didn't understand."

Zinni's comments are eerily similar to those made by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit this October. In a speech that drew a standing ovation from the leaders of Muslim nations in attendance, Mahathir remarked, "Today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."

...It's a shame that someone who so honorably served his nation for three decades would tarnish his legacy with such idiotic remarks. If he didn't mean to use "neocon" as a code word for "Jew," he should say so. But if he meant to, then he should just shut up.

Enlightening, isn't it?

Being elevated to a position of power at some point in one's life doesn't mean that one's opinion on a specific matter should be given more weight.

Many numbskulls have occupied high office. Jimmy Carter is a good example.

Everyone has a right to voice an opinion. Everyone also has the right to dismiss the opinions of others.

I think the libs in the media expose themselves as propagandists when they trot out Bush Administration attackers, and place them on a pedestal.

Because some generals have called for Rumsfeld's resignation, the media grant them star status. Why don't they highlight any generals that support Bush and his Secretary of Defense?

It's similar to the attention that "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan gets from the lib media, while the moms of other service members killed in Iraq are ignored.

Same thing with Joe Wilson. The lib media think he's a hero. In reality, he's a liar. Harsh? Yes. True? Yes.

The point is this:

Other than the foaming at the mouth Dems and the drooling lib media, who cares what Zinni thinks about Rumsfeld?