Library speakers’ series turns to Iraq

June Casagrande

Four years before the administration of George W. Bush invaded Iraq,

a plan was in place for just such an invasion and, more important,

for the inevitable occupation. Titled “Desert Crossing,” the plan

called for a stabilizing presence in each of Iraq’s 18 provinces as

well as a clear strategy for getting out of the country.

But by the time the United States invaded Iraq last year, this

plan was as good as forgotten.

“We went in there with no plan at all,” retired four-star Marine

Gen. Anthony C. Zinni said in a telephone interview. “All the

problems you’re seeing over there now were foreseeable and knowable,

but the Pentagon didn’t account for them.”

Zinni, the creator of that 1999 occupation plan, will share this

military insight and expertise when he headlines the Newport Beach

Public Library Foundation’s Distinguished Speakers Lecture Series

this weekend.

“Gen. Zinni is a highly regarded military professional who served

in the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart. He can speak of war

from a firsthand viewpoint,” said Jacquelyn Beauregard Dillman,

representative of the library foundation that helps organize the

talks.

Recent events in Iraq are part of the reason Zinni’s talk is so

timely, Dillman said.

But to Zinni, former commander-in-chief for the U.S. Central

Command, Iraq is just part of a much larger picture on the evolving

nature of the nation’s military. The world is changing, Zinni said,

and the United States military must decide how it will react to meet

coming challenges.

“I think there’s a whole set of transitional threats that have

come upon us since the end of the Cold War: terrorism and extremism,

use of weapons of mass destruction, environmental security threats,

health threats, spread of disease, drug trafficking,” Zinni said.

“Consider that in about five years in the Middle East water is going

to be the liquid of conflict. Not oil. Fisheries are being depleted,

for example. That can give you some sense of the needs we’ll be

facing.”

Zinni will address these issues in his talk Friday and Saturday

titled “The American Military: Readiness, War and Peacekeeping.”

After laying out some examples of the problem, Zinni will consider

some of the options for dealing with them. For example, should the

military play a role in world fisheries management and other matters

not considered traditionally part of the military’s job?

“I think the military has been resistant to these type of missions

-- political, economic, environmental, humanitarian -- but we keep

getting stuck with these missions,” Zinni said. “I think we’re at a

crossroads to define the military’s role.”

As for the future of Iraq, Zinni said he believes that the hope

for a peaceful transition to self-rule depends on the international

community working together because growing resentment toward the

United States undermines the ability to establish a government

acceptable to the diverse groups and factions in Iraq.

Zinni might also touch on his years working with Secretary of

State Colin Powell, whom Zinni admires greatly.

“I have the greatest respect in the world for him,” Zinni said of

Powell. “His personal experience, his genius for understanding

national security issues, his charisma and ability to work with

people, his brilliance in dealing with other nations. I just wish

they would listen to him more.”