posted January 31, 2003 at 10:48 AM MDT
It would be a mistake for anyone to paint the military with a wide brush; there are certainly spin-doctors and bullshit artists on that payroll, and once hostilities begin propaganda becomes part of the project, but the commanders who send their men and women into battle are often times refreshingly practical and frank. Case in point? see "Desert Caution - Once 'Stormin' Norman,' Gen. Schwarzkopf Is Skeptical About U.S. Action in Iraq reads in part
The general who commanded U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War says he hasn't seen enough evidence to convince him that his old comrades Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Paul Wolfowitz are correct in moving toward a new war now. He thinks U.N. inspections are still the proper course to follow. He's worried about the cockiness of the U.S. war plan, and even more by the potential human and financial costs of occupying Iraq.
[T]he hero of the last Gulf War sounds surprisingly like the man on the street when he discusses his ambivalence about the Bush administration's hawkish stance on ousting Saddam Hussein. He worries about the Iraqi leader, but would like to see some persuasive evidence of Iraq's alleged weapons programs.