The Empire Strikes Back - at Schwalier (Khobar Towers 'scapegoat' General)

The Empire Strikes Back--at Schwalier: Defense Chief Robert Gates, top Pentagon lawyer Daniel Dell'Orto, and unnamed Justice Department confreres have struck yet another blow at Terryl J. Schwalier, Washington's designated Khobar Towers scapegoat.

They have forced USAF to halt and reverse its efforts to restore Schwalier's second star after a 10-year struggle.

The new decision was elaborated in a March 28 letter from Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne to the Air Force Review Boards Agency, ordering it to halt implementation of its recent decision to correct "an injustice" and retroactively promote Schwalier to major general.

That corrective step has drawn strong praise from AFA and many other Air Force groups. They believed Schwalier had been made the fall guy by the Clinton Administration and some members of Congress for alleged command failures in the 1996 terrorist bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. Nineteen airmen died.

Though the Senate had confirmed Schwalier's promotion to major general before the attack, and though critics produced no credible evidence of fault on the part of Schwalier, Secretary of Defense William Cohen blocked his second star. In his March 28 letter, Wynne appeared to be acting under duress. He said Gates "has informed me" that Dell'Orto thinks the Air Force acted beyond its authority, that "the Department of Justice supports [Dell'Orto's] conclusion of law," and that "the Secretary of Defense agrees."

The service had already changed the general's official biography to reflect the new situation, giving his new grade, promotion date, and retirement date. All that is now to be rescinded.

Schwalier could not immediately be reached to discuss options, which clearly could include further legal action in federal court.

Below is a letter published in Air Force Magazine last month’s issue, when everyone believed this matter was finally resolved, BEFORE the decision by SecDef Gates to reverse it.

This combined with the Haditha Marines and the Sgt. Vela case seems to me to show a trend of SecDef Gates making our Military a political rather than defense organization, and his willingness to use our servicemen as pawns. It’s a disgrace.

‘Vindication and Vengeance’

I want to commend Robert S. Dudney, editor in chief of Air Force Magazine, and the Air Force Association for the editorial in the February 2008 issue [”Vindication + Vengeance,” p. 2] heralding the vindication of Brig. Gen. Terryl J. Schwalier in the matter of Khobar Towers.

It is clear to most that the bombing was caused by the enemy, and General Schwalier was made a scapegoat to relieve the political pressures in Washington. Just think of the number of junior officers and NCOs who learned the wrong lesson from this political firing of a commander.

Another story here, though, is that of the courage of Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, then our Air Force Chief of Staff. General Fogleman and many others attempted to buck the tide and defend the commander who was on the scene.

The eventual outcome was the resignation (early retirement) of General Fogleman. I can only imagine the amount of moral courage this act took—yet he did the right thing by taking care of his people and supporting his commander in the field.

*As I recall my military history, this was the first time a Chief of any service resigned over a moral issue. In fact, General Fogleman may be the first four-star in the history of our nation to resign over any moral issue.*

General Fogleman’s act of moral courage needs to be documented and taught to generations that follow. It needs to be part of the military academies’ lesson plans, in ROTC manuals, discussed at NCO academies, and taught by you and me to those whom we mentor.

Brig. Gen. Philip M. Drew,
USAF (Ret.)
Bethany Beach, Del.

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