Iraq War "Great" Decision, if Not "Greatest" of 21st Century

Rumsfeld's former intel chief credits the Iraq War for the Arab Spring

There's a broad consensus in the U.S. defense establishment today that the choice to invade Iraq was ill-considered and that the initial plan to stabilize the country was even worse. But for Donald Rumsfeld's one-time intelligence chief, the Iraq war wasn't just the right call at the time. It was "one of the great strategic decisions of the first half of the 21st century, if it proves not to be the greatest."

Stephen Cambone, who served as the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence from 2003 until 2007, surprised the audience at the Aspen Security Forum this weekend when he hailed the Iraq war as an alloyed triumph that paved the way for the rebellions now sweeping the Middle East. "It will be one of the greatest strategic victories of the United States because…. of the aftershocks that you see flowing through the region, whether it be in Libya, or in Egypt, or now in Syria," he said.