Walter Cronkite: Iraq War a “Disaster”
Walter Cronkite has seen it all. As part of the “Writing 69th” group of WWII journalists, he went ashore on D-Day, parachuted into Holland with the l0lst Airborne, and was in the first group of war correspondents to fly in a B-17 bombing raid over Germany.
Last week he was in San Jose. And, in an interview with Channel 5, the “most trusted man in America” was asked to weigh in on the Iraq War:
We should have gotten out a long time ago. This is a mistake, this entire war there, it’s a disaster. And the earlier we get out the better. It’s getting quite late now for that maneuver. We should have gotten out immediately. We should have never gotten in in the first place.
Isn’t “disaster” a pretty strong word?
That’s where it is. I don’t see how it can be described any other way. It’s a terrible disaster. Look at the loss of lives of our young Americans there and those who have been maimed for life, for what purpose? No purpose we can define…it’s a disaster.
Are Americans safer because of the Iraq war?
No, I don’t think so. I think we’re probably less safe. The entire Arab world has now put us down as an enemy. It’s going to be a long time for us to take back any suggestion of friendship with those nations. It’s very sad, I think.
Is the Iraq War winnable?
No, I think it’s already lost…we haven’t saved anybody from any worse existence than they had before. We’ve made it more difficult for all of them, and difficult for us. I think it’s a mistake from the beginning. We ought to get out sooner rather than later.
Does Cronkite think his opinion of the Iraq War might help end it?
I would like to think it would be helpful in getting us out of there. Anybody who can put another match to that fire, to get us out would be, I think, welcome.
Cronkite was the anchor for the CBS Evening News from 1962-1981. His 1968 statements claiming the Vietnam War was unwinnable influenced President Lyndon B. Johnson to forego a bid for reelection. Johnson reportedly remarked, “If I’ve lost Walter Cronkite, I’ve lost the country.”
When he left the anchor desk in 1981, he said: “Old anchormen, you see, don’t fade away; they just keep coming back for more.”
And that’s the way it is.
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