Lt. Gen. Odom: Leave Iraq. Impeach Bush.

At AfterDowningStreet.org, David Swanson live blogged a Congressional meeting with Lt. Gen. William Odom, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and professor at Yale. (An amateur video from the meeting is here.)

The highlights (emphases mine) -

Odom addressed...being told to ignore how we got into Iraq and [to] only talk about what to do from here on. Unless, Odom said, we discuss whose interests this war served, we cannot decide what to do. It served no U.S. interests. It served the interests of al Qaeda and Iran.

Al Qaeda recruiting declined in 2002, Odom said, but spiked after the U.S. invaded -- rose in Asia as well as in the Middle East. And Iraq is a great training ground for terrorists now. In addition, Odom said, a wedge is being driven between the United States and its European allies. "Osama understands that; we seem not to." The invasion of Iraq, Odom said, probably saved al Qaeda from ceasing to exist.

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The longer the war goes on, Odom stressed, the more it benefits al Qaeda and Iran.

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Odom argued that.... Our standing went up as soon as we got out of Vietnam.

"Beating the war drums on Iran," Odom said, "is a disaster that will make this one look small."

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Odom said that the most important thing for the United States to do now is to talk to Iran, a nation with which we have many common interests. Both nations, Odom said, oppose al Qaeda. One wants to sell oil, the other wants to buy. Iran's government hated Saddam Hussein and should appreciate what the US did. "We have two issues," Odom said, "Hezbollah and nukes, and they're going to get nuclear weapons - there's nothing we can do about that."

Dr. Paul Pillar [also present] drew a comparison between Iraq and Afghanistan. The jihad in Afghanistan for 10 years against the Soviet Union served to train terrorists, he said, and we are still experiencing the results. Iraq is now that training ground, and we may see results for many years, he said.

Rep. Hinchey asked Odom "How do we get out?" Odom's reply came without a pause: "Well, the Constitution gives the House the right to impeach."