William E. Odom: 1932-2008

William Odom has died. He was an outspoken early critic of the Iraq war, and as a former three star general, he had the credentials to back up his words.

Odom had served as a military adviser in both the Carter and Reagan administrations, and served as director of the National Security Agency under Reagan. He was also a forceful opponent of any compromise with the former Soviet Union. That's also why maybe more people should have listened to him in early 2003 when he warned that an invasion of Iraq would be "foolhardy and futile."

Last year he wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post called "Victory Is Not an Option" in which he called for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Odom also addressed the argument that if we leave now, all sorts of horrible things will happen in Iraq:

Reflect on the double-think of this formulation. We are now fighting to prevent what our invasion made inevitable! Undoubtedly we will leave a mess -- the mess we created, which has become worse each year we have remained. Lawmakers gravely proclaim their opposition to the war, but in the next breath express fear that quitting it will leave a blood bath, a civil war, a terrorist haven, a "failed state," or some other horror. But this "aftermath" is already upon us; a prolonged U.S. occupation cannot prevent what already exists.

His words of wisdom will be sorely missed.