Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf's lessons for us

We learn today that the US (and the World itself) has lost one of its finest soldiers 2 days back.  General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., Commander CENTCOM during the time of Operation Desert Storm died on 27 Dec 2012, aged 78 years in Tampa, Florida.  His death leaves us (at least me) with some important lessons.

Today, when the world seems to be full of people arguing for more violent postures and actions, Stormin’ Norman’ death should make us think back to the life and career of a military man who was pragmatic, realistic and abhorred the consequences of war.

Let us look at the emotional state of the world at the end of 2012:

• The protestors against the gang rape of 23 year old in Delhi were literally calling for the heads of the rapists.  They were propagating some form of instant justice and gratification, not the rule of law. 
• Their attitude was if the existing law cannot oblige them with immediate death to rapists - then the law should be changed, again immediately.  When the administration was stunned by the naked emotions and blackmail tactics, they turned violent and thrashed a 47 year old police constable Subhash Chand Tomar to death.
• China is impatient with her South China Sea neighbours who don’t want to meekly bend down and hand over their land (and sea) to the People’s Republic.  Even the proposed change of guard with Xi Jinping isn’t muting China’s aggressiveness.  On 27 Dec, China warned Japan about flights over Senkaku Islands.
• Trust the Chinese to paper over the fact that Mao Zedong considered Senkaku as part of Ryukyu Islands, the former name of Okinawa [http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/china/AJ201212280079].
• Less said about the Middle East the better.  The violence in Syria is very well known; the madness of Ahmadinejad isn’t dependent on lunar cycles; though Avigdor Lieberman is gone, so is Ehud Barak, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremism is unchecked; even Egypt which looked like moving towards stability is turbulent.
• In the US, the gun freaks are firing on all cylinders.  In the face of weekly gun induced death sprees, they want more guns.  It is humiliating to hear their explanation that guns don’t cause deaths, only crazy people with guns who cause deaths.
• Humiliating because they won’t allow laws to be put in place to restrict crazies from getting their hands on guns.  Just think, if your blood alcohol level is above certain level, it is illegal to drive a car, to do which you obtain a specific licence, .
• But even if you are blind drunk or habitual drug user, it is not illegal US to carry a gun, to which you don’t need a specific licence.

At times like these, the (life and) death of Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf, the general who was reluctant to capture Baghdad and overthrow Saddam Hussein, holds a lesson for everyone.  Norman Schwarzkopf was a fighting man who openly stated that if the US gets into Iraq, it will be like a dinosaur in a tar pit.

Too bad his words of wisdom said during Operation Desert Storm wasn’t heeded to by the son of his own Commander in Chief at the time of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Saddam Hussein alive and kicking in Baghdad would have been the ideal leash for the mad mullahs in Tehran and the rabid rabbis of Tel Aviv.

Hope Obama heeds the words and acts aptly in Syria with Bashar al-Assad.  Otherwise, without Bashar al-Assad, I am afraid Syria will become another sectarian hellhole.  Hope the President realises that not everything Russia and China propose should be opposed.

Back home, we should be grateful that Manmohan Singh’s ‘spineless-white-man-is-saint’ administration didn’t acquiesce to Obama’s demand for stronger action or sanctions on Myanmar, during his Delhi sojourn.  What face would we have left if we had, now that US and Burma have kissed and made up.
:-D



(image courtesy Randy Bish)

---