NBC’s Meet the Press held a panel discussion on August 28, 2005. “Former GENs Wesley Clark, Barry McCaffrey, Montgomery Meigs, and Wayne Downing participated. When asked by moderator Tim Russert if it was a mistake going into Iraq, GEN Clark responded, ‘I think it was a strategic blunder. First, it wasn’t connected to the war on terror, at least not to the people that struck us [on September 11, 2001]. Secondly, it has proved a huge recruitment tool for al-Qaeda… Seeing American soldiers engaged there just raises the temperature and the blood pressure throughout the Islamic world.’ “ [Editor’s note: the author incorrectly identified the date of the Meet the Press appearance as April 28, 2005.]
– Ricardo S. Sanchez with Donald T. Phillips, Wiser in Battle, Page 430