An interview with 60 Minutes on May 23, 2004, revealed the U.S. Marine Corps general in charge of Central Command, Anthony Zinni’s assessment of the Iraq war: ” ‘In the lead-up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility; at worse, lying, incompetence and corruption; false rationales presented as justification, a flawed strategy, lack of planning, the unnecessary alienation of our allies, the underestimation of the task, the unnecessary distraction from real threats, and the unbearable strain dumped on our overstretched military. All of these caused me to speak out, and I was called a traitor and a turncoat by civilian Pentagon officials.’ ”
– Al Gore, The Assault on Reason, Page 183