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Subscribe to RSSOne of the most celebrated generals of the 20th century, Norman Schwarzkopf, is being lauded by presidents and military leaders as a true patriot. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, the blunt, bulldog-like commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in the first Persian Gulf War, died Thursday in Florida. He was 78.
Schwarzkopf died from complications of pneumonia after a long illness at his home in Tampa, where he lived in retirement.
Schwarzkopf, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who rose quickly through the Army's ranks during the 1970s and '80s, drew up the initial plans for the successful U.S.-led ejection of Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait, which Iraq invaded in 1990.
He then became famous for his pointed and inventive language during the almost-daily televised briefings he gave reporters as commander of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, invariably clad in desert camouflage, which he is credited with introducing.
Schwarzkopf described the key maneuver that led to the end of the ground war, a redeployment of forces into Iraq behind Iraqi lines, with a boxing metaphor: He called it a "left hook." And he memorably dismissed one report he disagreed with as "bovine scatology."
In his 1992 autobiography, "It Doesn't Take a Hero," Schwarzkopf related that he meant to send a message in those briefings.
"With those cameras grinding away, I knew I wasn't talking just to friendly audiences, but that Saddam and his bully boys were watching me on CNN in their headquarters," he wrote.
Schwarzkopf said he agreed with President George H.W. Bush's decision not to pursue Hussein all the way to Baghdad. At the February 1991 briefing during which he described the coalition's victorious operations, he made it clear that he could have done so, however, had he been given the order:
"If it had been our intention to take Iraq, if it had been our intention to destroy the country, if it had been our intention to overrun the country, we could have done it unopposed for all intents and purposes from this position at that time."
Consolidated News Pictures / Getty Images file
Click to view scenes from the life of the retired Army general.
Schwarzkopf emerged from the war with the nickname "Stormin' Norman" and a career in television, much of it as a military analyst for NBC News.
The decision to go to war to oust Hussein was the defining moment of Bush's presidency. In a statement from Houston, where he is being treated at Methodist Hospital for complications related to bronchitis, Bush called Schwarzkopf "one of the great military leaders of his generation."
"More than that, he was a good and decent man," Bush said.
In January 2003, Schwarzkopf said on NBC's TODAY that he thought Bush's son, the 43rd president, had made a "very compelling" case for removing Hussein from power.
But by December 2004, he was criticizing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his handling of the second war, telling MSNBC that war policy was being controlled by civilians in the Defense Department who "showed a total lack of understanding of the culture that we were dealing with" in Iraq.
As a result, he said, "things have gone awry," especially in terms of adequate armored protection for troops on the ground.
Dec. 13, 2004: Norman Schwarzkopf tells MSNBC's Chris Matthews that civilians in the Defense Department were mishandling the war in Iraq.
Obama, Powell hail general
In a statement Thursday night, President Barack Obama called Schwarzkopf "an American original."
"From his decorated service in Vietnam to the historic liberation of Kuwait and his leadership of United States Central Command, General Schwarzkopf stood tall for the country and Army he loved."
Colin Powell, who was Schwarzkopf's boss as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Desert Storm, remembered him Thursday as "a great patriot and a great soldier."
"He was a good friend of mine, a close buddy," Powell said in a statement. "I will miss him."
Schwarzkopf, who had been based in Tampa for many years on the way to leading U.S. Central Command in 1988, was a prominent spokesman for campaigns to promote awareness of prostate cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 1993. He is survived by his wife, Brenda, and their three adult children.
Andrea Mitchell and Courtney Kube of NBC News contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
I certainly hope that the flags are lowered to half staff. If it can be suggested that a singer that died of a cocaine overdose should be honored this way, old Stormin' Norman needs them lowered 'till hell freezes over.
We'll be lucky if Obama even acknologies that he has passed away. One of the greatest Genereals since Eisenhower.
I'm betting Obama won't even make reference to it. He'll be too busy blaming the GOP for taking us off the fiscal cliff when Democrats have majority control of power in Washington, including Harry Reid's Senate which hasn't passed a single budget in nearly four years.
Unfortunate for real Americans that we do not have a president that loves his country the way Stormin Norman did. A true patriot...a man among men. He was honest and trustworthy not like what we have in the entire administration including the Secretary of State. These people think they are running for entertainer of the year!
BTW Jhawke...Harry Reid has not even composed a budget for 4 years...which BTW is illegal!
36th and 52nd TFW 1991 Goodnight sir, Rest in Peace!!
Godspeed stormin Norman
An American Patriot, RIP!
You wil be missed General. RIP. Too bad Colin Powell didn't have a set we could have finshed Sadam the first time around and avoided the second time. Colin Powell s about as useless as Obama. he claimed to be good buddies with you and i doubt that very much! You had Balls and he doesn't.
Isn't he like our last general to actually win a battle?
A Few Good Men, and General S. was definitely one of them.
The last of a few..... General the fight for you is done and you walk now with heros in heaven.
Well stated!
Patton of the 90's RIP Norman
Kicking the arse in Iraq. What a hero.
What can I say....Americans love a guy who can go overseas and kill a bunch of people. The enduring result of his actions? Nothing....same things have been done a thousand times before during manhood initiation rituals. Humans have a natural need to prove their manhood by showing their ability to kill and survive. It is rather silly, but.....humans haven't changed much since the Stone Age.
You certainly are a pauper AP - a morally and unintelligent one.
The General did his duty to the upmost within what he was allowed to do. That is more than I can honestly say about most Americans including yourself.
AP, since you are morally corrupt and deficient, do not try to denigrate a great man down to your level. That is simply evil.
AmericanPauper...good name for you! What have you ever done for America? Go put your head back into the sand where you belong
Dougie and twit....what do you two morons know about "morality" or "intelligence"....just two more aggressive, war-loving American twits.
Twit....what has America ever done for me? All they know how to do is harass others and find weaker opponents to steal from and kill.
Pauper....typical LOSER attitude. Wah! What about me..You are a true POS
I just love your denigrating of my name and your twisting of Twis' handle. Shows you to be the morally corrupt and intellectually depraved & deprived individual that I already predicted you to be.
"War-loving"?!? You are kidding, right? How in any fashion did either one of us show that we love war? Get a grip fool!!
Are you an American really Pauper? If no, then pull your head out and stop bothering us. If yes, do you not understand yours is a country made by war, preserved by war and will only be maintained by war? If you are an American, you have the freedom to denigrate this great man and many other worthwhile & noble people and ideas simply because of war and the efforts of the General and thousands like him on your behalf.
The United States of America is a political experiment that most in the world do not like Pauper, and they will & do use any and all means, including violence, to try to destroy that experiment.
The job the many, including the General, had, have and will have is to preserve that experiment through many means including violence/war.
Pauper, know something that is really important and true to the line - the American people, like the General, that are really good at war - they do not like war at all - they simply have a calling that allows the vast majority of Americans to enjoy freedoms that are paid for by these persons on a daily basis. How many millions Pauper have paid the ultimate sacrifice and millions more that have paid partial payments on the farm over the last 236 years to preserve this Republic so you can say the foul things you do? Do you have any idea at all AP? I already know the answer. You do not. Your postings to date say you do not no matter what you post next.
Pauper, if you are American, you should not howl like you do here. You should simply say a prayer of gratitude to whatever god you worship and say "Thank you very much." to those who defend your right to be the absolute idiot you are here.
I have one word for you: Coalition. A coalition put together by the United States of America to suppress the aggression of a dictator who wanted to control the Middle East oil fields for his profit and power. Had we wanted to go in to ONLY protect "our" aka the world's, oil interests, we could have done it alone and easily so. You obviously have no idea of the atrocities committed by the Iraqi army against the Kuwaiti populace. Ask the Kuwaiti's how they feel about our involvement in the Gulf War.
Put that in your porridge and gum it, you Putz.
I was humiliated in Nam. I regained my dignity and honor under Schwarzkopf! Sir, I will ever be in your debt. obama you better do this man right! Be a good thing if we never met Pauper.
CSM USA RET Airborne Infantry 23yrs.
Thank you for your service!
rip sir god bless you
Our Nation has lost a great leader, and I am proud to have served under him.
Sadly we have lost our last great general. All I've seen coming out since his retirement have been yes-men and butt wipers. R.I.P. Stormin. You are a true patriot and a great American. I salute you
Very sorry to see him pass. Schwarzkopf set down his leadership principals as follows:
1. You must have clear goals. And you must be able to articulate them clearly. One of the advantages we had in Kuwait, said the general, was the clarity of the mission: "Kick Saddam Hussein's butt out
of Kuwait. The goal was clear and simple, and something that every one of our troops understood."
2. Give yourself a clear agenda. Every morning write down the five most important things for you to accomplish that day. Whatever else you do, get those five things done. Insist that the people who report to you
operate the same way.
3. Let people know where they stand. Everyone knows you do a disservice to a B student when you give him or her an A. That applies not just to schools. The grades you give the people who report to you must reflect
reality.
4. What's broken, fix now. Don't put it off. Problems that aren't dealt with lead to other problems. Besides, something else will break and need fixing tomorrow.
5. No repainting the flagpole. Make sure all the work your people are doing is essential to the organization.
6. Set high standards. Too often we don't ask enough from people. At one point in Schwarzkopf's career, he was placed in charge of helicopter maintenance. He asked how much of the fleet was able to fly on any given day. The answer was 75%. "People didn't come in at 74 or 76, but always at 75, because that was the standard that had been set for them. I said, 'I don't know anything about helicopter maintenance, but I'm establishing a new standard: 85%.' " Sure enough, within a short time 85% of the fleet was available on any given day. The moral: people generally won't perform above your expectations, so it's important to expect a lot.
7. Lay the concept out, but let your people execute it. Yes, you must have the right people in place. But then step back. Allow them to own their work.
8. People come to work to succeed. Nobody comes to work to fail. It seems obvious. So why do so many organizations operate on the principle that if people aren't watched and supervised, they'll bungle the job?
9. Never lie. Ever. Schwarzkopf said there had been a big debate about whether to use disinformation to mislead the Iraqis during the Gulf War. "We knew they were watching CNN. Some people argued that we
could save American lives by feeding incorrect information to our own media." Schwarzkopf vetoed the idea because he felt it would undermine the military leadership's credibility with Americans.
10. When in charge, take command. Leaders are often called on to make decisions without adequate information. As a result, they may put off deciding to do anything at all. That's a big mistake, said Schwarzkopf. Decisions themselves elicit new information. The best policy is to decide, monitor the results, and change course if necessary.
11. Do what's right. "The truth of the matter," said Schwarzkopf, "is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."
Our county's "leaders" could certainly learn a lot from Norman Schwarzkopf. RIP soldier. A life well lived.
good post JR!
He wanted to go straight to Bagdad and take Sadamm out , but the fools in Washington DC (Washington Dumb Clowns) would not let him. And then we ended up spending more of our national treasure and American lives later on down the road.
"AT EASE", Soldier. You have earned it. God Bless you, your family and America.
Godspeed sir! Job well done. There have been posters that have mentioned similarities between you and Patton, and rightly so. In some ways you were cut from the same cloth. Our leaders would do well to put aside political correctness when it comes to fighting a war, and pay attention to our Generals more. Had you, Patton, and even Macarthur been allowed to finish the job so to speak the world would be a much different place today. Patton wanted to march into Berlin first. Macarthur wanted to go all the way to Manchuria. You wanted to finish Saddam off. We all know what happened as a result of those actions being disallowed.
Todays leaders and our Legislators could take a lesson in patriotism and leadership from you. You are a true American hero. You have served your country well, and have earned your rest. Sleep well.
General, thank you for your dedication and commitment to this country and the military. We will truly miss men of your caliber in the years to come. I was proud to serve with you in Desert Storm, and I pray with your family in this time of loss. You did us proud sir!
A lot of you (conservatives) busted Obama’s b a l l s for liberating Libya which led to the death of a tyrant, Gaddafi.
Yet you people (mainly conservatives no doubt) praise a General that liberated Kuwait during the gulf war, that didn’t kill a tyrant, Saddam Hussein, but was a precursor to the Iraq war fought in vain, where we didn’t win, but left behind death and destruction and got no oil.
Go figure.
Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf was like most good Generals, he served his country. He does deserve that acknowledgement and respect. But he wasn’t a great General. It wasn’t like he was fighting a formidable country like Russia.
at the time iraq was the 6th largest mechanize military on the planet....RIP General
Obama liberated Libya?!? On what planet? Not on Earth. We had an incredibly minor role in that conflict because of Obama and persons like him.
The General and the allied forces only did what we did in '91 because of the allies we had at the time and our politicians. The Coalition force, shoot, just the present American forces could have easily gone on to Baghdad, but we were not allowed to by the powers that be, not the General Larry.
Seriously Larry, just how young and stupid are you? You certainly do not know much of anything about much of anything boy.
Post Gulf War syndrome.
rip General, unlike Peter, oops petraeus, you broght honor to the army
They don't make em like him anymore!
Rest-in-Peace, "Stormin' Norman", you were an honorable man and it was a pleasure serving with you, unlike the cowardly, traitorous jackass you had to report to, "Colonoscopy" Powell.
Well done General. Go with honor to the next world, you've earned it.