San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct '05

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051030/news_mz1e30webb.html

An exercpt of the interview is copied below:

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Begin Excerpt:

Q:What is your take on the wisdom of our strategy in Iraq and the competence of its execution?

A:I was an early voice saying we shouldn't go in, that it was not connected to the war against international terrorism, that it was not among the highest national security concerns that we should be considering. My warning before we went in was basically that it was a strategic mousetrap on three different levels. One is that it would involve the nation's focus and attention and resources beyond military resources to the detriment of other interests. Second was that if you're going to decapitate a government, you would be draining your force structure. And thirdly, in the sense that we have focused so strongly on the Sunnis while the Shiites have been in a win-win since day one, and as a result we're empowering Iran.

Q:Has that view changed any now?

A:No.

Q:You don't buy the argument that it didn't used to be about terrorism and al-Qaeda but that now it is?

A:I think the tragedy in my view of Iraq is that it has created a lot more terrorists than would have existed if we hadn't gone in. I don't think it's a plus that Iraq is filled with terrorists right now. This isn't a zero-sum game like there's only X number of terrorists in the world and as a result we're going to draw them to the flytrap and kill them off.

Q:There are a lot of people who say we made a terrible mistake but we will compound it if we just back out now. Do you agree?

A:I'm not saying we should pick up everything and leave in six months. I'm saying we made a horrendous mistake going in, in my view a strategic error. This is not a moral comment. There are a lot of situations around the world where I wouldn't shed a tear if a leader were taken out. The question is where you draw your national priorities and how that plays out. I was in Beirut as a journalist in 1983. It was an incredible experience for me looking at the lay of the land. We had an issue when I was secretary of the Navy where we tilted toward Iraq (during the Iran-Iraq war). I think I was the only guy in the Reagan administration who opposed the tilt toward Iraq in writing.

Q:What's your recommendation on how we get out?

A:I think there are two things that need to happen. The first is that the administration needs to say with absolute clarity that we have no long-term aspirations in Iraq. And then the other is to reinvolve a lot of the countries that are in that region. Iran's probably too dangerous because of the way they've moved into the Shiite areas; But to reinvolve the Arab nations and invite them to participate in the solution.

End of Excerpt.
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Perhaps Mr Webb can take comfort that the sky didn't fall after we left Vietnam. Maybe we'll get lucky again in Iraq.