Retired General Finds 'Closure' in Saddam's Capture

Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf said Monday it's nice to see the United States military finish the job started by troops under his command in the first Persian Gulf war.

The capture of Saddam Hussein brings "closure" for all the troops involved in Operation Desert Storm, Schwarzkopf said in an interview on NBC's Today show.

Schwarzkopf said the option to capture Saddam did not exist during the first gulf war.

"At that time, it was very clear why we had to make the decision we did," he said. "It was a coalition of forces and a strong mandate from the United Nations, which said, 'Kick Iraq out of Kuwait.' It didn't say go all the way to Baghdad and throw Saddam out.

"And besides that, everybody was convinced that there was no possible way Saddam could continue to exist after being handed that terrible defeat. And it just goes to show how little we knew about what was going on..."

Schwarzkopf said he expects the capture of Saddam to have an impact, particularly on the loyalists who may start to wonder "what's in it for them to stick around," now that Saddam is gone.

"I think that they're going to take a long, hard look at this thing, and say, listen, he's not coming back, the regime's gone forever; we're going to take our gold and money and get out of here."

As for the "crazies" who are attacking U.S. troops, Schwarzkopf noted that many of them aren't Iraqis at all. "That is a group that's going to be very, very difficult to deal with," he said.

Interviewer Katie Couric asked Schwarzkopf if the capture of Saddam "is going to motivate members of al Qaeda to stage some other terrorist act against the United States."

Schwarzkopf expressed the opinion that it wouldn't encourage al Qaeda to do anything it wasn't already planning to do.

Asked whether the capture of Saddam creates the opportunity to make the rebuilding of Iraq a more international effort," Schwarzkopf said that goal would take cooperation on the part of everyone.

"I don't see anything coming out of France or Germany which says that they're now going to go ahead and join the coalition," he said.

One of our finest, he can even handle Katie Couric, the Bush Basher and Clinton toadie.

I don't quite feel the same way. If he hadn't been so charitable to Saddam during the first war ("yes, of course you can use helicopters"!), we might not have had to fight another one.

The capture of Saddam Hussein brings "closure" for all the troops involved in Operation Desert Storm,

I never even thought about that. That's ... satisfying.

3 posted on 12/15/2003 4:51:55 PM PST by Gumption (When I spell clinton with lower case "c", the FR spell check shouldn't try to correct it.)

If he hadn't been so charitable to Saddam during the first war ("yes, of course you can use helicopters"!), we might not have had to fight another one.

In fairness to Stormin' Norman, his bosses held him back. That would be Colin Powell, Dick Cheney, and Bush 41.

4 posted on 12/15/2003 4:52:03 PM PST by CholeraJoe (PSST...Saddam! Do ya like Metallica? You're gonna hear alot of it for the next six months.)

Norm made a few executive decisions in that tent that had pretty far reaching consequences.

5 posted on 12/15/2003 4:57:04 PM PST by Gumption (When I spell clinton with lower case "c", the FR spell check shouldn't try to correct it.)

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