Gen Hoar USMC (ret): Whatever the excuse, it was wrong to invade Iraq

[Rose Siding]

Thank you, General.

More leaders must cross this line. We didn't just 'go about it in the wrong way'. It was wrong. If the legs aren't cut right out from under the Bush Doctrine -if it isn't reviled and thouroughly discredited- the next repub admin will embrace and revive it. We will find ourselves here again...

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/features/2004/06/28/imperfect_imperialism.php

Imperfect Imperialism
by General Joseph P. Hoar, USMC (Retired)

America is an imperfect imperialist. We want to be loved, respected and admired for our wholesome commitment to democratic ideals, ideals that we espouse not only for ourselves but for others as well. Yet these idealistic qualities are at odds with our more base desire to control the destinies of other nations.

The outward manifestations of imperialism are almost always cloaked in inspirational hopes for the subjugated people. General Stanley Maude, Commander of the British Forces that captured Baghdad in March, 1917, promised peace and liberty. In 1920, Winston Churchill declared that the British were paying large sums for the privilege of living on "an ungrateful volcano".

The Muslim world, 1.2 billion strong, Europe and most of Asia have seen what many Americans are unwilling to accept. Whatever the excuse, it was wrong to invade Iraq. The flagrant inconsistencies which exist in our foreign policy, combined with the abrogation of alliances and treaties painstakingly built over decades of dedication to internationalism and the rule of law, have left us with few friends. That the Irish people, from whom so many of us Americans have sprung, could protest the recent visit of President Bush is an example of how our national reputation has been diminished.