Foreign policy was the topic when retired four-star U.S. Air Force Gen. Merrill A. "Tony" McPeak spoke in Chambers Building last night.

McPeak originally supported George W. Bush in the 2000 election but has since registered as an Independent and is supporting the Kerry/Edwards ticket. He said he is upset with Bush's foreign policy and does not feel the answers lie in a war with Iraq.

"I had great admiration for the Bush parents, so it was natural for me to drift to the Bush side in the 2000 election," McPeak said. "I have regretted it from day one."

McPeak was a military advisor to the Secretary of Defense and President George H.W. Bush as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Now he calls himself a "recovering Republican."

"Let's just say that I'm having dinner with some more pleasant and interesting people now," McPeak said. He said he does not feel Bush accurately foresaw the outcome and consequences of a war with Iraq. "A lot of people were smart enough to see that this [war] was going to be a mess," McPeak said. "President Bush was not one of them."

McPeak was an attack pilot who flew more than 300 missions during Vietnam. He was the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force from 1990 until 1994, where he was the senior officer responsible for organization, training and equipage of a combined active duty, National Guard, Reserve and civilian work force of over 850,000 people.

McPeak originally spoke out in favor of Howard Dean, but when Kerry pulled ahead, he was contacted by the Kerry campaign and was asked to work with them.

"I regard this as the most important election in my lifetime," McPeak said. "We have already lost almost 1,100 kids to this carelessness."

McPeak blames the problems in Iraq on the current president.

"Iraq clearly was a disposition to remove [Saddam] Hussein from power no matter what the cost and the lies that needed to be told," McPeak said.

He also compared the qualities of Kerry to those of Bush.

"Kerry is smart, intelligent and curious about the world," McPeak said. "So he's pretty much the exact opposite of Bush."

He also took some time to give some discourse about the media, calling Fox News a "slimy organization."

"I was supposed to go on The O'Reilly Factor tomorrow," McPeak said. "I declined because I'm not really into self-inflicted punishment."

Tony Mach, a Navy veteran who served from 1964 to 1968, gave his thoughts on the importance of voting. "It's important for everyone to vote because it's part of our democratic process," Mach said. "It's a right that's been fought for years and not to vote is squandering what is important."

Richard Grumm has served in the National Guard since 1982 and agreed with Mach. "Everybody likes to complain but they don't realize that voting is a mechanism for change," Grumm said.