Operation Iraqi Freedom: Military and political dissent

Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war on terrorism in Iraq, gave rise to both military and political dissent long before preemptive war in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

The following is a listing of both military and political figures who have weighed in with views both prior to and during the on-going war in Iraq. See individual articles for views and reviews.

Military

 * Col. Andrew Bacevich, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Gen. Wesley Kanne Clark, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Gen. Wayne A. Downing, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Philip Gold, U.S. Marine Corps
 * Col. David H. Hackworth, U.S. Army
 * Gen. Joseph Hoar, U.S. Marine Corps (retired)
 * Col. Paul F. Hughes, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Gen. James L. Jones, U.S. Marine Corps
 * Col. Richard Klass, U.S. Air Force (retired)
 * Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, U.S. Air Force (retired)
 * Gen. Merrill A. McPeak, U.S. Air Force (retired)
 * Gen. Montgomery Meigs, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Lt. Gen. T. Michael Moseley, U.S. Air Force
 * Gen. William L. Nash, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Lt. Gen. William E. Odom, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Gen. Colin L. Powell, U.S. Army (retired) and Secretary of State
 * Capt. Larry Seaquist, U.S. Navy (retired)
 * Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, U.S. Army (retired) and National Security Adviser to Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George H.W. Bush
 * Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Gen. Henry H. Shelton, U.S. Army and former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
 * Gen. Eric Shinseki, U.S. Army (retired)
 * Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, Jr., U.S. Army (retired)
 * Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace
 * Col. John Warden, U.S. Air Force (retired)
 * James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy and Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan
 * Col. Larry Williams, U.S. Marine Corps (retired)
 * Maj. Gen. Anthony Zinni, U.S. Marine Corps (retired)

Politicians

 * Richard Armey, U.S. House of Representatives
 * Samuel Berger, former National Security Advisor
 * Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter
 * Robert C. Byrd, U.S. Senate
 * Max Cleland, former U.S. Senator from Georgia
 * Paul Findley, U.S. House of Representatives (retired)
 * Newt Gingrich, former Speaker in the U.S. House of Representatives
 * Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States
 * Chuck Hagel, U.S. Senate
 * Edward M. Kennedy, U.S. Senate
 * Dennis Kucinich, candidate U.S. presidential election, 2004
 * John Larson, U.S. House of Representatives
 * Edward Luttwak, consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the U.S. Department of State; member of the National Security Study Group of the U.S. Department of Defense, and an associate of the Japan Finance Ministry's Institute of Fiscal and Monetary Policy
 * John McCain, U.S. Senate
 * Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense
 * Ralph Nader, candidate U.S. presidential election, 2004
 * Ron Paul, U.S. House of Representatives
 * Henry A. Waxman, U.S. House of Representatives

Related SourceWatch Resources
In particular see:


 * Abu Ghraib (and related links)
 * Bush administration
 * Bush regime
 * Exit Strategy from Iraq
 * fourth-generation warfare
 * Intelligence Community
 * Iraq as an imminent threat
 * Loose Cannon Pentagon
 * Operation Enduring Freedom
 * Operation Iraqi Freedom
 * preemptive war
 * Proactive Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG)
 * weapons of mass destruction

General Links

 * "Iraq Lies," TV News Lies.
 * Resignations of International Career Diplomats and Intelligence Officers Who Have Quit Over Iraq, TV News Lies.

2002

 * Thomas E. Ricks, "Timing, Tactics on Iraq War Disputed. Top Bush Officials Criticize Generals' Conventional Views," Washington Post, August 1, 2002.
 * Tim Reid and Clem Cecil, "General Tells Bush: Don't Go It Alone," Times of London (Why War?), August 19, 2002.
 * Tony Caron, "Iraq: The GOP War With Itself. GOP elders call for the party hawks to back down from their plans to go after Saddam Hussein. Can President Bush unite his party?" Time Magazine, August 21, 2002.
 * Michael Radu, "Observations on the Iraq War Debate," FrontPage Magazine, August 21, 2002.
 * William Saletan, "Cheney vs. Scowcroft. How to duck the arguments against attacking Iraq," Slate, August 27, 2002.
 * Julian Borger, "Daggers drawn in the house of Bush. Clash between representatives of old and new leaders plays on world stage," Guardian Unlimited (UK), August 28, 2002.
 * Elizabeth L. Cline and Mosi Secret, "The Generals Speak," The Nation, October 3, 2002.

2003

 * John Nichols, "Media Miss War Dissent In Congress," Capitol Times Op-Ed, February 6, 2003.
 * Jason Vest, "The Army's Empire Skeptics," The Nation, February 13, 2003.
 * Jim Lobe, "Rumsfeld Under Heavy Fire at Home," Inter Press Service, April 2, 2003: "A coalition of retired senior military officers, moderate Republicans, and even some civilian hawks who have strongly supported Rumsfeld's efforts to 'transform' the U.S. military, is increasingly taking aim at the Pentagon chief, whom they accuse of intimidating the uniformed military and needlessly alienating Washington's European allies."
 * Michael T. Klare, "The Generals' Revolt," The Nation, April 2, 2003.
 * Seymour M. Hersh, "Offense and Defense. The battle between Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon," The New Yorker, April 7, 2003 (Issue).
 * Letter from "750 veterans" to the President of the United States," Veterans for Common Sense, November 11, 2003. Letter includes list of signatories.

2004

 * Mark Perry, "Nearly Fifty Senior Retired Military Officers Seek NMD Postponement," Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, March 26, 2004. Letter sent to President Bush includes signatories.
 * Al Gore, Address on Iraq Policy, May 26, 2004.