Veteran: War based on greed
Eric Haney, a retired command sergeant major and founding member of the elite Delta Force commando unit, charged Monday that the president’s policy is based on cultural arrogance and corporate greed rather than sound military strategy.
Haney said his concerns are military, not political, and he is surprised more “dyed-in-the-wool” Republicans are not speaking out.
“I don’t care if it was the pope in charge; wrongdoing does not recognize partisanship,” he said. “I had the same problem with (former President) Clinton and the Democrats — you should clean up your own mess.”
“At every turn, in the upper levels of our administration, they refused to listen to what they did not want to hear,” Haney said.
“Rumsfeld said the generals are getting all the troops they ask for, but they’ve gotten the word not to ask,” he said. “If you don’t play ball, you don’t get that other star or that book deal or the chance to sit on corporate boards when you retire.”
Despite what supporters claim, he said, criticizing Bush’s decisions is not unpatriotic.
"It is the duty of every American citizen to stand up and say it when something is wrong,” he said. “This administration has wrapped itself in the troops. They’ve learned from Vietnam to say, ‘If you don’t support me, you don’t support the troops,’ but they’re hiding behind those kids.”