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War against Iraq Showcases Top Black Leadership by George E. Curry Originally posted 4/14/2003 DOHA, QATAR—If United States Supreme Court justices want know how affirmative action works before ruling in the Michigan cases pending before them, they should visit the Army base here, the place where the war against Iraq is being coordinated. Everyone on this side of Mars knows by now that daily briefings are conducted by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, an African-American. His is the official voice and face of the war, the person who conducts daily briefings that are beamed around the world. Brooks...

By Don Melvin Cox News Service (04-04-03) CAMP AS SAYLIYA, Qatar -- He is tall, confident and unflappable, the television face of the U.S. military's Central Command and the front-line warrior in the critical battle to marshal public support for the war in Iraq. In his daily briefings for reporters at the Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks has shown himself to be a master of both vivid description and impenetrable obfuscation. "The dagger is clearly pointed at the heart of the Baghdad regime," he said as U.S. led forces closed in on the Iraqi capital....

<p>"Colin Powell is not secretary of state because he's black. He's there because of what he can offer and that's the way we were raised to think." The person doing the talking is second in command at West Point, and the "we" he is referring to are himself and his siblings — Brig. Gen. Leo A. Brooks Jr., Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks and Marquita Brooks. The generals chose to follow their dad, literally and figuratively, while younger sister Marquita chose a career in law. If she's spoken to the press about her brothers, the challenge is finding her comments. No real matter, though, since the two generals can't avoid the media.</p>

CAMP SAYLIYA, Qatar, April 3 — Day after day since the beginning of the war, Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks has described the advance of American forces toward Baghdad. Today, General Brooks, the chief military spokesman for Central Command, said that American soldiers were at the gates of the city, ready to enter whenever and wherever they choose. So it was a bit jarring to hear a television reporter from Hong Kong question the general about what would happen if the American offensive suddenly collapsed. "Where would the coalition troops retreat to?" he asked. It was a question ready-made for...

Brigadier General Vincent Brooks faces some outrageous and stupid questions at his daily Central Command briefings. Some of them deserve to be answered dead on, but because of political correctness and diplomacy and all that, CENTCOM can't always do that. I can, which is why I sometimes answer these questions in a mock briefing. On Thursday, I focused on a question by New York magazine's Michael Wolff. Wolff said: "I mean no disrespect by this question, but I want to ask about the value proposition of these briefings. We're no longer being briefed by senior-most officers." The press pool applauded...

Seeing blacks in lead boosts confidence March 27, 2003 BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST While getting dressed for work, I noticed that the man on TV standing at the podium taking tough questions from cranky journalists was a black man. I almost poked myself in the eye with a makeup brush. This is huge. As huge as Secretary of State Colin Powell taking questions from members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the State Department budget on Wednesday. As huge as National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's role was in shaping America's policy toward Saddam Hussein. Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks,...

NY Magazine: Top Black General Worthless March 27, 2003 Brigadier General Vincent Brooks faces some outrageous and stupid questions at his daily Central Command briefings. Some of them deserve to be answered dead on, but because of political correctness and diplomacy and all that, CENTCOM can't always do that. I can, which is why I sometimes answer these questions in a mock briefing. On Thursday, I focused on a question by New York magazine's Michael Wolff. Wolff said: "I mean no disrespect by this question, but I want to ask about the value proposition of these briefings. We're no longer...

I watched with disgust as the daily Centcom briefing on the war for Iraq took place Wednesday morning. While there has been an obvious anti-American tenor from the press corps throughout Iraqi Freedom, the questions on Wednesday were so virulent that they are worth revisiting. First and foremost, the majority of reporters did not have questions at all. The majority of reporters wanted to do nothing more than make a statement on camera, and then ask Brigadier General Vincent Brooks to address it. One of these statements was the regurgitation of an Internet rumor that said Vice President Dick...