MILITARY LEADERS MUTINYING
More recently, another retired Marine, Lt. Gen. Greg Newbold, former director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in Time that the Iraq war was “unnecessary” and that the rationale for war by those whom he called “the zealots” made no sense. Newbold’s choice of the word “zealots” was loaded. The term arises from the legend of the Zealots—an ancient sect of Jewish fanatics.
Newbold quit the service four months before the Iraq invasion, in part, he said, because he opposed those who exploited the 9-11 tragedy “to hijack our security policy” He added:
“Until now, I have resisted speaking out in public.” But, he said, “I’ve been silent long enough.”
What particularly disturbed Newbold’s critics was that he said he was speaking out “with the encouragement of some still in positions of military leadership.”
Newbold brandished his anger at the armchair war hawks, most of whom never served in the military, saying, “the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions—or bury the results.”