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Retired Gulf War Leader Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Dies at 78

Dec. 27, 2012 7:58pm Jason Howerton

Retired Persian Gulf War Leader Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Dies at 78

Sept. 14, 1990: Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia at the time, answers questions during an interview in Riyadh. (AP)

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who topped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991 but kept a low public profile in controversies over the second Gulf War against Iraq, died Thursday. He was 78.

Schwarzkopf died in Tampa, Fla., where he had lived in retirement, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to release the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as “Stormin’ Norman” for a notoriously explosive temper.

He served in his last military assignment in Tampa as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.

Schwarzkopf became “CINC-Centcom” in 1988 and when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait three years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, he commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organized by President George H.W. Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.

“Gen. Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomized the ‘duty, service, country’ creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises,” Bush said in a statement. “More than that, he was a good and decent man – and a dear friend.”

At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf – a self-proclaimed political independent – rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC.

While focused primarily in his later years on charitable enterprises, he campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2000 but was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and Pentagon predicted. In early 2003 he told the Washington Post the outcome was an unknown:

“What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That’s a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan,” he said.

Initially Schwarzkopf had endorsed the invasion, saying he was convinced that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had given the United Nations powerful evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. After that proved false, he said decisions to go to war should depend on what U.N. weapons inspectors found.

He seldom spoke up during the conflict, but in late 2004, he sharply criticized then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon for mistakes that included inadequate training for Army reservists sent to Iraq and for erroneous judgments about Iraq.

“In the final analysis I think we are behind schedule. … I don’t think we counted on it turning into jihad (holy war),” he said in an NBC interview.

Schwarzkopf was born Aug. 24, 1934, in Trenton, N.J., where his father, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police, was then leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnap case, which ended with the arrest and 1936 execution of German-born carpenter Richard Hauptmann for stealing and murdering the famed aviator’s infant son.

The elder Schwarzkopf was named Herbert, but when the son was asked what his “H” stood for, he would reply, “H.” Although reputed to be short-tempered with aides and subordinates, he was a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who didn’t like “Stormin’ Norman” and preferred to be known as “the Bear,” a sobriquet given him by troops.

He also was outspoken at times, including when he described Gen. William Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam, as “a horse’s ass” in an Associated Press interview.

As a teenager Norman accompanied his father to Iran, where the elder Schwarzkopf trained the country’s national police force and was an adviser to Reza Pahlavi, the young Shah of Iran.

Young Norman studied there and in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, then followed in his father’s footsteps to West Point, graduating in 1956 with an engineering degree. After stints in the U.S. and abroad, he earned a master’s degree in engineering at the University of Southern California and later taught missile engineering at West Point.

In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army’s Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor – including one for saving troops from a minefield – plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals.

While many career officers left military service embittered by Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was among those who opted to stay and help rebuild the tattered Army into a potent, modernized all-volunteer force.

After Saddam invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Schwarzkopf played a key diplomatic role by helping to persuade Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd to allow U.S. and other foreign troops to deploy on Saudi territory as a staging area for the war to come.

On Jan. 17, 1991, a five-month buildup called Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied aircraft attacked Iraqi bases and Baghdad government facilities. The six-week aerial campaign climaxed with a massive ground offensive on Feb. 24-28, routing the Iraqis from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.

Schwarzkopf said afterward he agreed with Bush’s decision to stop the war rather than drive to Baghdad to capture Saddam, as his mission had been only to oust the Iraqis from Kuwait.

But in a desert tent meeting with vanquished Iraqi generals, he allowed a key concession on Iraq’s use of helicopters, which later backfired by enabling Saddam to crack down more easily on rebellious Shiites and Kurds.

While he later avoided the public second-guessing by academics and think tank experts over the ambiguous outcome of Gulf War I and its impact on Gulf War II, he told the Washington Post in 2003, “You can’t help but… with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, ‘Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn’t be facing what we are facing today.’”

After retiring from the Army in 1992, Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography, “It Doesn’t Take A Hero.” Of his Gulf war role, he said, “I like to say I’m not a hero. I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war.” He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and honored with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.

“I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I’m very proud of that,” he once told the AP. “But I’ve always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I’d like to think I’m a caring human being. … It’s nice to feel that you have a purpose.”

Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.

Former President George H.W. Bush, who remains in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital in Houston, released the following statement on Schwarzkopf’s passing:

“Barbara and I mourn the loss of a true American patriot and one of the great military leaders of his generation. A distinguished member of that Long Gray Line hailing from West Point, General Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomized the ‘duty, service, country’ creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great Nation through our most trying international crises. More than that, he was a good and decent man — and a dear friend. Barbara and I send our condolences to his wife Brenda and his wonderful family.”

This story has been updated

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Comments (49)

Tankboy2adfwd
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 9:11pm
Halfway down the trail to Hell,
In a shady meadow green
Are the Souls of all dead troopers camped,
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddlers’ Green.
Marching past, straight through to Hell
The Infantry are seen.
Accompanied by the Engineers,
Artillery and Marines,
For none but the shades of Cavalrymen
Dismount at Fiddlers’ Green.
Though some go curving down the trail
To seek a warmer scene.
No trooper ever gets to Hell
Ere he’s emptied his canteen.
And so rides back to drink again
With friends at Fiddlers’ Green.
And so when man and horse go down
Beneath a saber keen,
Or in a roaring charge of fierce melee
You stop a bullet clean,
And the hostiles come to get your scalp,
Just empty your canteen,
And put your pistol to your head
And go to Fiddlers’ Green.

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- TouchStoneMT
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 10:49pm
  Fitting, for someone who engineered one of the least costly (in American lives) victories in American military history.
  
  Farewell to a fine commander.
  *salute*
  
  Report this comment
- DeOppressoLiber
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 11:20pm
  The strategy for the Gulf War belongs to Col John Boyd.
  
  Boyd is credited for largely developing the strategy for the invasion of Iraq in the Gulf War of 1991. In 1981, Boyd had presented his briefing, Patterns of Conflict, to Dick Cheney, then a member of the United States House of Representatives.[10] By 1990 Boyd had moved to Florida because of declining health, but Cheney (then the Secretary of Defense in the George H. W. Bush administration) called him back to work on the plans for Operation Desert Storm.[11] [12] Boyd had substantial influence on the ultimate “left hook” design of the plan.[13]
  In a letter to the editor of Inside the Pentagon, former Commandant of the Marine Corps General Charles C. Krulak is quoted as saying “The Iraqi army collapsed morally and intellectually under the onslaught of American and Coalition forces. John Boyd was an architect of that victory as surely as if he’d commanded a fighter wing or a maneuver division in the desert.”[14]
  
  Stormin Norman was a good general but he was brought up with Attrition warfare (killing and breaking things) as the US military is taught. Col Boyd is considered to be the father of Maneuver Warfare (opening up with a Check or Check Mate, before the shooting starts, makes shooting easier when needed) in the US.
  
  In current conflicts the Palestine has out maneuvered Israel on the international stage.
  
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- Dismayed Veteran
  Posted on December 28, 2012 at 10:18am
  Some day all of us will be at Fiddler’s Green. It will be nice to meet the General.
  
  Dolce et decorum est, pro patria mori.
  
  Report this comment
- SquidVetOhio
  Posted on December 28, 2012 at 10:28am
  The last great American General.
  
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pilgrim249
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:57pm
America’s last great General.

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- GuruMeditation
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 9:27pm
  For sure. RIP Sir.
  
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- DadRocked
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 9:31pm
  BLAZE – THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE FRONT PAGE…
  
  Others… Quotes from what should have been a 5 Star Officer:
  
  “You learn far more from negative leadership than from positive leadership. Because you learn how not to do it. And, therefore, you learn how to do it.”
  
  “When placed in command – take charge.”
  
  “Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.”
  
  “Do what is right, not what you think the high headquarters wants or what you think will make you look good.“
  
  “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.“
  
  “Courage brother, do not stumble, though thy path be dark as night: There is a star to guide the humble, trust in God, and do the right. Let the road be dark and dreary and its end far out of sight. Face it bravely, strong or weary. Trust God, and do”
  
  “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”
  
  Report this comment
- Kalidor835
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 10:00pm
  He wasn’t just a great general but a good man as well. I had the occasion to meet him once while attending JROTC in HS and it was an honor I will never forget. R.I.P. General you have earned it.
  
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LeadNotFollow
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:55pm
Rest in Peace General.

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Voice1percent
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:53pm
Semper Fi General my only wish is that you would have run for President of these United States………..a capstone for your career sir!

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- SovereignSoul
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 9:13pm
  “This we’ll defend.”
  The General was Army not Marine Corps.
  
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FiscalConserv
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:51pm
RIP good General.

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The-Monk
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:48pm
Goodbye my friend….
I hope you catch more fish in Heaven than you did in that pond beside your house. : )

Rainer Maria Rilke – Letters To A Young Poet – Dennis Hopper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=yb2nMvOOsO4

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The-Monk
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:42pm
Goodbye my friend…….

I live my life in widening rings
which spread over earth and sky.
I may not ever complete the last one,
but that is what I will try.

I circle around God’s primordial tower,
and I circle ten thousand years long;
And I still don’t know if I’m a falcon,
a storm, or an unfinished song.

Rainer Maria Rilke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2xkNLMQ3M

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Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:40pm
I was proud to serve with you Sir and I am glad I got to meet you. You were the best. Bush 41 and Colin Powell were a disgrace to threaten you with court martial when Hussein was in your sights. Had they listened to you we would never have lost all those lives ten years later. To the family, we salute you and we’ll keep you in our prayers.
Load toad from Seymour Johnson AFB

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- 4xeverything
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:56pm
  Amen…
  
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Beachbaby
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:37pm
I forgot. Old soldiers never die and enjoy that bowl of mint choc chip ice cream that God and Jesus is preparing for you!

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Beachbaby
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:35pm
I admired this man so much. Thanks for making me feel safe and God bless this man for all eternity. A true patriot. A true man.

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Elisheva
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:32pm
Thank You Sir for your Service to our Country..

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RightWingLeftyGolfer
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:26pm
He’s slipped the surly bonds of Earth and touched the face of God. It was indeed an honor serving under you in the desert “back when” sir!!

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DEFCON4
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:25pm
One of the Generals’ “finest moments”. http://youtu.be/vteVel7h9b8
Thank You, Patriot !

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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:23pm
I salute the man who did not have the audacity of hope in gun free zones, the audacity of hope in anything other than the rules of engagement that you engage the enemy, and felt pride in my heart when I heard the phrase “we have some tool boxes that we have not opened yet”, that the enemy knew in his heart, his hours on this plane of existence terrorizing others is stopping now?

May God bless his family, as much as he has blessed us?

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banjarmon
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:23pm
Thanks for you service General!!

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ambrosia
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:20pm
Onward and upward, brave warrior !

In an interview during the Gulf War,
I remember the General saying that he had
the Ken Burns Civil War Series on hand, in camp
so he could “relax” & watch
when time tending to his own war allowed.

Well-respected & beloved by his soldiers…a great General !

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ChiefGeorge
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:19pm
Fair winds and following seas General! You were the best of our time.

I wish GHB would have turned him loose the first time against Saddams Iraq. They were surprised it was not an unconditional surrender like we did with Germany and Japan. We strung it out and lots of boys and girls have died or have been maimed for life fighting town to town and door to door in GWB’s War with Iraq.

From the later War, we find ourselves with a mideast ripping itself apart. Make no mistake that the intervention into Iraq precipitated what we see today. We gave them a real War and they actually fought back and are still fighting back against the US and the NWO players. We’ve been weakened as a result which also gave rise to power one certain man in the WH to this very day.

I hope the General is in a better place!

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Dkoonz
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:15pm
Lost a good man. Great American and Hero will be missed.

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OlefromMN
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:15pm
RIP General. We have lost one of our best.

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 9:18pm
  To say the least. I was crushed earlier when I heard this on the news.
  
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omgfolks
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:13pm
Rest now weary soldier your mission is done. Thank you for your service and dedication in the protecting of our nation , may your family find solice and peace in your passing. Rest in Peace Sir. I stand and salute you. Thank you

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:12pm
Rest in peace General.

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Lordchamp
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:10pm
One of the last true soldier’s solder with backbone.

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BODYBAG
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:09pm
You are a true PATRIOT of the highest honor sir. May you rest in peace.

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SATX 19
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:08pm
WOW, what a sad day. A TRUE AMERICAN HERO. I read his autobiography and thought it was a terrific read; first person, honest, humble manner. Quite the life story. You sir, will be missed. God Bless the United States of America.

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RestoreCapitalism
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:06pm
Our respects to you General.

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