People Against the War

An Open Letter to Bill Wattenburg

Dr. Wattenburg:

Your claim that people who are against the war in Iraq want the United States to lose could not be more wrong or misinformed. It may be true of a few wingnuts, but we have always had wingnuts. In the Revolution, they were called "Loyalists" in WW II they were called "America Firsters", their spokesman being Col. Charles Lindberg. But they did not represent the majority of the American people anymore than today’s loudmouths do – whether from the left or the right.

As a scientist you know all too well how dangerous blanket generalized statements can be. I am not against the soldiers; I am against the leadership of this war. As a career soldier, I hold the American Soldier to be the finest example of all the attributes we hold dear. They are brave. They are dedicated. "Duty” and “Country" are not mere words that fall from the tongue; they are standards that soldiers live by. In the scores of battles in which I participated, I have always been amazed at the number of soldiers who risked - sometimes gave - their lives to protect their buddies. I owe my own life to a couple of these heroes.

You are right on one point. The fact that we were lied into this war is history. We can't do anything about that. But we can do one thing - we can provide decent military leadership to the valiant troops who are fighting this war. When the prime consideration for selecting a General is political and religious affiliation, we are whipped. When we dismiss an Airborne, Ranger qualified General like Shinseki, and replace him with a striped-pants diplomat like J. Paul Bremer whose only qualification for his staff was that they be "Christians" and loyal Republicans, it’s not surprising that the outcome is one of the greatest military blunders in United States military history -- disbanding the National Army and Police, sending them home with their weapons, thus turning possible allies into an angry, armed and unemployed mob.

In the selection of senior commanders in Iraq, the PNAC and the Christian Embassy are calling the shots. If this continues, countless more valiant soldiers will die and the United States will continue its circular firing squad in Baghdad.

You keep touting the wonderful reconstruction work our troops are doing. Most of this work has been done by no-bid, over-paid contractors. Nearly all the work that has been done is of poor quality and will have deteriorated by the time the Iraqis take over.

After more than four years of our occupation, oil production has not reached the level of the Saddam era, and 70% is going to the multi-national consortiums.

In all wars, we demonize the enemy. Witness the lurid posters of World Wars I and II; enemy soldiers were depicted as savage beasts. But this is the first war where we have demonized a whole population, old men, women and children. I have investigated or sat on scores of courts martial. In thirty years I never sat on a court martial that involved the wanton slaying of unarmed women and children. When that happens it is no accident; it is a gross lack of leadership.

My heart goes out to the soldiers, particularly the non-commissioned officers, who are forced to fight under such weak leadership. They deserve better. They want to win - and so do I.

George M. Lindsay
Lt. Col., U.S. Army, Ret.

-----------------------------------------end-----------------------------------------------


I have not received a reply from Dr. Watttenburg and if I do I am certain it will be filled with invective of how stupid and unpatriotic I am, and how much I hate George Bush. If the Commander in Chief had a little bit more combat time under his belt, I might have a higher opinion of his ability to conduct a war - any war. GML