Retired US General "Stormin" Norman Schwarzkopf dies at 78 - Polidicks

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/wa3zi.jpg[/IMG] [quote](CNN) -- Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded coalition forces during the Gulf War, died Thursday, a U.S. official said. He was 78. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Schwarzkopf directed the buildup of 700,000 coalition troops. On January 17, 1991, his troops began a nearly six-week air assault of Iraqi forces that was followed by a swift ground campaign that pushed Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait. Former President George H.W. Bush, who is hospitalized, said the general was a "true American patriot and one of the great military leaders of his generation." Schwarzkopf went to the U.S. Military Academy and graduated in 1956, according to Britannica Online. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. In 1988, Schwarzkopf was appointed commander of U.S. Central Command. Schwarzkopf made a reputation as a plain-spoken commander when he gave media briefings during Operation Desert Storm. He came to be known as "Stormin' Norman." He retired in August 1991, hit the lecture circuit and was a military analyst for NBC. Schwarzkopf wrote a book entitled "It Doesn't Take a Hero: The Autobiography of General Norman H. Schwarzkopf." In it, he outlined the reasons that coalition forces didn't press onto the Iraqi capital during the first Gulf War. "Had the United States and the United Kingdom gone on alone to capture Baghdad, under the provisions of the Geneva and Hague conventions we would have been considered occupying powers and therefore would have been responsible for all the costs of maintaining or restoring government, education and other services for the people of Iraq." Schwarzkopf wrote that had "we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like a dinosaur in the tar pit -- we would still be there, and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of that occupation." A U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in 2003, leading to the eventual capture of Hussein.[/quote] [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/27/us/schwarzkopf-obit/index.html?hpt=hp_t1[/url] [url]http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16197379-desert-storm-commander-norman-schwarzkopf-dies-at-78?lite[/url] [url]http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/27/gen-norman-schwarzkopf-who-led-coalition-forces-in-persian-gulf-war-dies/[/url]

He's in Heaven now. Rallying his men.

Godspeed, mate. Godspeed. *salute* [editline]27th December 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=CabooseRvB;38998615]He's in wrote hell before but is now trying to bamboozle us with Heavan now. Rallying his men.[/QUOTE] Don't try to swindle me, you cretin.

Either way, he's going to fare well in any environment he's destined to be placed in.

My old man was in the 1990 deployment to Kuwait. Gen. Norman could have very well been one of the men that meant my daddy came home.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;38998615]He's in wrote hell before but is now trying to bamboozle us with Heavan now. Rallying his men.[/QUOTE] what

Good night, sweet general.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;38998615]He's in Heaven now. Rallying his men.[/QUOTE] Or in Hell since the Bible states that you can't kill anyone. And what would rallying his men do in Heaven, there isn't any violence or war there. Am I thinking about this too much?

[quote]"Had the United States and the United Kingdom gone on alone to capture Baghdad, under the provisions of the Geneva and Hague conventions we would have been considered occupying powers and therefore would have been responsible for all the costs of maintaining or restoring government, education and other services for the people of Iraq." Schwarzkopf wrote that had "we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like a dinosaur in the tar pit -- we would still be there, and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of that occupation."[/quote] Too bad this guy wasn't in charge during the second gulf war.

[QUOTE=TheSporeGA;38998918]Or in Hell since the Bible states that you can't kill anyone. And what would rallying his men do in Heaven, there isn't any violence or war there. Am I thinking about this too much?[/QUOTE] The Bible is kind of non-specific with killing. The original was Thou Shalt not Murder, not Thou Shalt not Kill. The Bible never specifies if soldiers go to hell.

[QUOTE=TheSporeGA;38998918]Or in Hell since the Bible states that you can't kill anyone. And what would rallying his men do in Heaven, there isn't any violence or war there. Am I thinking about this too much?[/QUOTE] Technically he never killed anyone. His men did.

[QUOTE=ScoutKing;38999046]Technically he never killed anyone. His men did.[/QUOTE] Yeah but he made the order that lead to the murder of others.

Jesus, and I was just reading about him earlier what with Bush Sr. being in the hospital and all.

[QUOTE=TheSporeGA;38999076]Yeah but he made the order that lead to the murder of others.[/QUOTE] killing =/= murder contrary to popular belief please learn the difference, murder is a legal circumstance.

[QUOTE]"Had the United States and the United Kingdom gone on alone to capture Baghdad, under the provisions of the Geneva and Hague conventions we would have been considered occupying powers and therefore would have been responsible for all the costs of maintaining or restoring government, education and other services for the people of Iraq."[/QUOTE] Of course, not going into Iraq and removing Saddam's regime meant that he would stay in power for another twelve years while his country continued to suffer numerous sanctions, as well as the genocide of thousands of Kurds. We also wouldn't have had to go back in 2003 to finish the job and later get ourselves into a counter-insurgency quagmire that would end up costing a lot more than some little administration work back in '91, but, hindsight's 20/20 I guess. [QUOTE=Ereunity;38998716]My old man was in the 1990 deployment to Kuwait. Gen. Norman could have very well been one of the men that meant my daddy came home.[/QUOTE] If you're implying that Schwartzkopf's supposed strategic prowess ensured the welfare of the unit that your father was in - don't, because any failure to inflict significant casualties on coalition forces in the Gulf War was due entirely to the Iraqi enemy's sheer incompetence rather than the brilliance of American generals.