Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Gremlin on April 19, 2002, 09:39:51 AM
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This has gotta be the best I have seen in quite some time.
> In a recent interview General Norman Schwartzkopf was asked
> if he thought there was room for forgiveness towards the
> people who have aided and abetted the terrorists who had
> perpetrated the September 11th attacks on the United States.
> He said: "I believe that forgiving them is God's function.
> Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."
Gotta say the man has a way with words.
Gremlin.
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Amen Norman!
Jay
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Sorry guys, urban ledgend.
http://www.snopes2.com/military/norman.htm
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Don't really matter whether he said it or not, still damn funny IMHO :D
Grem.
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Schwartzkopf let the Iraqi Republican Guard escape. Subsequently Saddam Hussein was able to smash the revolts that followed the Gulf War with armor.
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Iron, I think if destroying the Republican Guard was a requisite of the mission in Kuwait we would have seen to that. I also think that our next visit to Iraq (stay tuned) will result in the complete elimination of Iraq's ability to wage war. Of course, we will then turn around and assist (via aid) in the reconstruction of what we have destroyed, but what we leave behind will also be a country seeking a democratic existence.
Iran and Syria better watch their p's and q's, as well.
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Wrong Iron........I was there.
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Well it seems that Schwartzkopf let the Republican Guard get away. Then he changed around the mission objectives to make it look like the Republican Guard was a secondary objective. I firmly believe that some mistakes were made in the ground war that should not have been. Here is a quote from General Schwartzkopf during a briefing of his Generals.
"We need to destroy-not attack, not damage, not surround-I want you to destroy the Republican Guard. When you're done with them, I don't want them to be an effective fighting force anymore. I don't want them to exists as a military organization...I want to pin them with their backs against the sea, then go in and wipe them out."
Schwartzkopf thought the Republican Guard was going to try to escape toward the west. Instead, it went north. Schwartzkopf couldn't get VII Corps to move quickly enough to engage the RG due mainly to the fact that he stayed in his command post instead of going out to the front to see what the actual conditions were.
Monk-what did you do in the Gulf War?
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Thread Hijackers!!!!
Look what I started now:rolleyes:
Grem.
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Sry Grem:)
Iron, I was in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, on a M1A1.
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Just because something is a legend does not mean it is not true. I can speculate that General Schwarzkopf didn't say it, but that is no different than speculating that he did. He lives here in Tampa, maybe I should drop by and ask him? :)
As for the Republican Guards being spared, I think you will find General Schwarzkopf was not at the top of the decision loop. He was probably ordered to let them go based on some series of decisions arrived at by Bush and Powell. It is not like the Republican Guard could outrun F-16s, A-10s, and F-15Es. It was a conscious decision of our government to leave Sadam in power with adequate forces to protect himself.
Unlike MacArthur in Korea, General Schwarzkopf did not speak out publicly against the decisions of his superiors regardless of their validity. He carried out his orders as he should: with honor and dignity. Many reasons have been provided and postulated, but we can only guess why the powers that be chose to let Sadam and his Republican Guard survive.
Personally, I hold George Bush Sr. responsible for the results of Desert Storm. Overall, I think George Bush Sr. has been one of the most influential men in the history of this country. He started as a Navy pilot in WWII, directed the CIA, wrapped up the Cold War, and led the country through the most one-sided victory we have seen since the Spanish-American War. I leave it to later historians to debate whether his influence over that span of 50 years was for the better of the worse. As a bonus legacy, his sons are stepping up to fill his shoes, almost like a royal family (a backwards step in American history in my opinion indicating how much birthrights still affect our social-political status).
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Originally posted by Monk
Sry Grem:)
Iron, I was in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, on a M1A1.
Say Monk, you know the commercial for the Army where they show that tank jumping a hill like a motocross rider at like 60 mph?
Well tell me somthing dosnt that have to shake your brains out landing with a multi ton steel beast under you?
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To come back to the topic - the funniest historical quote (I dont know if he really said it) was mad by Marshall Ney - the great cavalry-leader of Napoleon.
Standing in front of the execution team who already pointed with their rifles at him and waited for the last order to open fire, he said "You will not shoot."
He was wrong... ;)
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I Quite like Winston Churchhill's classic when some women said "You sir are Drunk" Apparently Winston Churchill replied... "And you madam are ugly, but I'll be sober in the morning"
I can't wait for the day the oppurtunity to use that one presents itself.
TTFN
snafu
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Actually I think that quote was Oscar Wilde.
Churchill had a good one though:
Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink.
... Lady Astor to Winston Churchill
Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it. ... Winston Churchill's reply
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Nope...Churchill it was..... my bad. Also said to Lady Astor.
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My favorite:
"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
- H. L. Mencken.
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In defense of Monk, Iron YOU are Mistaken on what the "Mission in the Persian Gulf" was. I almost went in out of high school, but knew it would "be over before it began". The mission of Desert Storm was to "drive the Iraqi's out of Kuwait", not "kill Saddam Hussein". Get you facts straight.
Monk, thank you for serving.
Jay
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Mash....hey buddy, Thx
It was personal for us, the faster we smoked the Iraqis, the faster we could come home.
Streakeagle has got it right
I couldn't ask for any better leaders.
Krusher that stupid commercial made me join :)
They prolly had to fix that M1 after that stunt, seen guys break their ribs on the turret hatch:)
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"never met anyone yet that didn't understand a kick in the nuts or a slug from a .45"
guess??
;)
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Originally posted by Monk
Sry Grem:)
Iron, I was in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, on a M1A1.
How did you enjoy Killeen Tx?? :) The armpit of Texas!
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Masherbrum, I am not sure how I can refute your evidence. Be careful that you dont breach your security clearance. Afterall, you are a person who ALMOST joined the army right out of high school. I imagine your rank must be ALMOST that of a General.
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Hangtime.....Patton?