Reagan defense official criticizes rush to war

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 9:55 a.m.

A former Reagan administration Defense Department official told a Las Vegas audience Wednesday that he has no doubt the United States will be at war with Iraq within a month, and U.S. troops will be over there for years.

Lawrence Korb, who served as assistant Defense secretary from 1981 to 1985, was critical of the Bush administration in the first of a series of lectures sponsored by the U.S. District Court and the National Judicial College at the George Federal Building.

Bush advisers' opinions that a democratic government in Iraq could set an example for the rest of the region "reminds me of Vietnam," Korb said, referring to the conflict that kept the United States mired in Southeast Asia for decades.

Boyd Law School Dean Richard Morgan asked if Bush's policy decisions were well thought out.

"Bush came to office with instincts and he brought people around him who reinforced those instincts," Korb said.

Korb said the voice of reason in the administration has been Secretary of State Colin Powell, a moderate who believes in building coalitions with other countries.

Powell, a 35-year soldier, carries credibility enhanced by his role as U.S. military leader in the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991. Bush's father had the backing of a solid coalition of countries before launching that strike on Iraq, Korb noted.

Powell had urged the current President Bush to try to garner support from Europe and the United Nations before attacking Iraq, Korb said.

Powell was the crucial official in the administration who wanted to avoid another war in the Middle East, Korb said. But Powell shifted his position from diplomacy to war in recent weeks, Korb added.

"He's a good soldier," Korb said, explaining why the secretary is now on board with the administration's push for war.

Korb, who was responsible for 75 percent of the defense budget under President Ronald Reagan, said that no one knows how long a war in Iraq would last.

"Whenever you start a war, you never know what is going to happen," he said. "What if Iraq throws chemical weapons at Israel? When you start a war, you can't stop it."

Many people don't remember the civil war in Kosovo, where U.S. troops went in 1995, he said.

"It is naive to think that we'll get rid of Saddam in three to six months," Korb said. "We went to Bosnia in 1995 and we are still there today."

Saddam could hurl chemical weapons at Israel or on his own people or blow up gas and oil fields, Korb said. The United States could face other conflicts such as an attack by North Korea or a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan, he said.

And after a war on Iraq, the U.S. will need allies to help rebuild the country. Yet Bush has failed to reach out to other countries, Korb said.

Korb, who has visited most of the hot spots of world conflict, is now director of national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"These guys hate to travel," Korb said of the Bush administration. "You gotta go out and talk to these people."

When Bush coined the "Axis of Evil" phrase, citing Iran, Iraq and North Korea, the president "startled his own state department," Korb said.

"Just like you can't wipe out all terrorism, you are not going to wipe out all evil," Korb said.

"I think the administration could have handled it much better if they hadn't been so arrogant."