Free Republic

Brig. Gen. Terryl Schwalier was stunned when he read the account of the June 25, 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia that appeared in my recent book, Countdown to Crisis: the Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran. I was writing many years after the fact, drawing on sources from inside Iranian intelligence but also on published U.S. government reports. It was those U.S. reports that prompted General Schwalier to contact me a few months ago. “You paint a picture of significant government awareness that “Iran was up to something” in the months prior to the Khobar Towers attack,” he wrote...

Iraq news wires here WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — Three retired four-star American generals said today that attacking Iraq without a United Nations resolution supporting military action could limit aid from allies, energize recruiting for Al Qaeda and undermine America's long-term diplomatic and economic interests. "We must continue to persuade the other members of the Security Council of the correctness of our position, and we must not be too quick to take no for an answer," Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The officers' testimony came on...

Marking the 14th anniversary of legislation that allowed gay men and lesbians to serve in the military but only if they kept their orientation secret, 28 retired generals and admirals plan to release a letter on Friday urging Congress to repeal the law. We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” the letter says. “Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish.” The retired officers offer data showing that 65,000 gay men and lesbians now serve in the American armed forces and...

WASHINGTON — Several veterans groups on Wednesday joined the chorus of opposition to President Bush’s nomination of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, calling his legal opinions on torture a threat to U.S. forces worldwide. On Tuesday, 12 retired admirals and generals — including former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Shalikashvili — sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to closely examine Gonzales’ position on torture before they approve him. Veterans for Common Sense, which represents about 12,000 former military personnel, and other related groups took their criticism of Gonzales even further by asking...

FORT LEWIS, Wash. (AP) - Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early years of the Clinton administration, has been hospitalized in guarded condition at an Army hospital here, a spokesman said Monday. Shalikashvili, 68, entered Madigan Medical Center on Saturday morning, and the family is requesting that no more information be released, said Mike Meines, a hospital spokesman. Shalikashvili served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the Clinton administration from 1993, the year Clinton took office, until 1997, when the general retired from the Army. At a gathering honoring Shalikashvili when...

Text: Gen. Shalikashvili's Speech BOSTON, July 29, 2004 (CBS) Below is the text of Gen. John Shalikashvili's (Ret.) speech to the Democratic National Convention: Thank you very much, General Kennedy. It is a great honor to stand here before you this evening and to experience first hand the enormous energy of "democracy in action." But I do not stand here as a political figure. Rather, I am here as an old soldier and a new Democrat. I am a new Democrat because I believe that John Kerry and John Edwards are the right choice for America's security-and the right choice...

Georgia Eyes Former US General as Candidate For Presidency John Shalikashvili A prominent Georgian lawmaker has called for a nationwide campaign to elect a U.S. general to be Georgia's next president. General John Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, is of Georgian descent. Lawmaker Gherman Patsatsiya said Friday he does not know of anyone as well qualified to lead Georgia out of its economic problems than General Shalikashvili. Mr. Patsatsiya said the Georgian constitution could be amended to allow the general to run for president in 2005. General Shalikashvili has not yet responded to...