Some of you were likely only just born and in diapers when this man led the US Army and a cotingent of our allies to liberate the small nation of Kuwait from Saddam Hussain and his thugs from Iraq. This guy, even with his bravado, was a good and decent gentleman.

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Our nation lost a great leader when General Norman Schwarzkopf passed from the scene at 78 years of age. “SEMPER FI”

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16197379-desert-storm-commander-norman-schwarzkopf-dies-at-78

Edited December 29, 201212 yr by rigney

Some of you were likely only just born and in diapers when this man led the US Army and a cotingent of our allies to liberate the small nation of Kuwait from Saddam Hussain and his thugs from Iraq.

One thug ousted another with the excuse of a trumped up war, returning the people - especially the women - of the British created sheikdom of Kuwait to their former and fairly ugly form of Islamic authoritarian rule.

 

The motive was denial of Kuwait's oil to undesirable (uncooperative) Iraq. The welfare of the Kuwaiti people, especially the women, was a distant secondary concern. Saddam got played by the colonial powers, and almost lost his dictatorship from the mistake.

 

If Kuwait has not returned to its former practice of slant drilling to poach Iraq's oil deposits, you can count me as surprised - I can't find confirmation one way or the other.

 

None of this is to say anything bad about the general there, RIP - although his support of W for the Presidency cost his country dearly, and he was willing to play thug for people he might better have better estimated, he always seemed like the good sort of coach to me.

The case of slant drilling was to some the reason Iraq invaded Kuwait, and is likely true. Also, it can be assumed our country instigated it by supplying such knowledge to the Kuwaitis. And whether it's a Shiekdom or Despots ruling a country, it's immaterial since freedom ain't worth nothing 'less it's free. And while generals are little different than Pvts. when it comes to orders, obeying his superiors was perfectly alright with me as long as Norms guns were trained on an enemy, not us here at home. I respected General Schwarzkopf for what I thought was his grit as a soldier and genius in warfare, along with his lack of political meddling. When he left the military there seemed to be little fanfare, and as I remember; even less, dabbling in politics. Picked this up in the A.M.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/27/gen-norman-schwarzkopf-who-led-coalition-forces-in-persian-gulf-war-dies/

 

R.I.P. brave and honorable soldier.

Edited December 31, 201212 yr by rigney