Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 1, 1991 TAG: 9103010050
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TOM SHALES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
One admiring newspaperman, watching the general strut but not fret his hour upon the stage in Riyadh, hailed it as "the mother of all briefings."
Schwarzkopf wore his usual briefing attire: fatigues with microphone pinned to the collar.
The briefing was carried live on all three broadcast networks and on cable's CNN and C-Span, and so impressive was the general that, almost immediately, rebroadcasts were scheduled on CNN, C-Span and ABC.
CNN anchor Bob Cain called it "by far the most informative briefing to come out of the Persian Gulf War."
The purpose of the briefing, Schwarzkopf announced at the outset, was to describe "what we were doing and why were were doing it." He recapped the war from its beginnings, describing strategy and objectives, using charts and graphs to help in the explanation, clarifying and illuminating it all in an informal yet very deliberate way.
This wasn't a snow job to give the press more information than they could possibly comprehend, the way some of the briefings have been. And it wasn't really for the benefit of the reporters still remaining in Riyadh anyway; it was for all of us watching anxiously at home, for the world. This may have been the most-seen military briefing since George C. Scott's curtain-raiser in the movie "Patton."
It was also as larger-than-life.
Schwarzkopf was a little gruff, like Scott's Patton, but lovable, like Lou Grant. He did sound like the quintessential military man when discussing such operations as removing the reconaissance capability of Saddam Hussein's air force: "Once we had taken out his eyes, we did what could best be described as the Hail Mary play in football."
But if he showed satisfaction at the success of the strategy, there was no trace of killer glee about inflicting losses, and there was a seemingly heartfelt sorrow about casualties suffered by the U.S. and its allies. "The loss of one human life is intolerable to any of us who are in the military," he said, as he has said before.
While U.S. casualties were so light as to be "miraculous," Schwarzkopf said, "It will never be miraculous to the families of those people" who lost loved ones in battle. Asked about recent losses to friendly fire, Schwarzkopf said, "We went to extraordinary lengths to try and prevent that type of thing from happening. It's a terrible tragedy, and I'm sorry that it happened."
It's still a relatively new face for the military, this sensitivity and compassion, and nobody puts it forth better than Schwarzkopf.
The toughness is also seasoned with humor. A reporter asked about the timing of the ground war. Schwarzkopf replied, "Why - do you think we did it at the wrong time?" He asked that a chart be left up for one second, then barked, "One second is up," and it was whisked away.
Asked about Saddam Hussein's prowess as a military strategist, Schwarzkopf at first blurted a loud, sarcastic "Hah!" Then he noted Saddam's inadequacy as a tactician, general and soldier and said, "Other than that, he's a great military man. I want you to know that."
Someone watching a performance like this who came through the '60s with little respect for the American military, even with contempt, had to be shaken up. Here was the military ideal with none of the old blemishes apparent, a warrior with a tender heart, a man to remind you of the men you have most admired in this world.
People are looking at the military differently than they did six months ago. One reason is the spectacular job they have done in the gulf. Another is the spectacular job they have done in telling us about their spectacular job. If Schwarzkopf went to the military's so-called "charm school," he must have graduated with honors, but his performance didn't seem calculated or fake.
What the fallout will be from all this, and how long it will go on, is incalculable now, but there were some clues yesterday. The change in America's attitude toward its military has started already. It should prove to be more than a fashion trend, though that will probably be part of it.
One of the general's remarks had particularly pungent reverberations. He praised George Bush and other leaders for letting him and the other military men "fight this war exactly as it should have been fought." The reference is obvious. Vietnam, the first war America lost, the war that became a wound.
Perhaps in the Persian Gulf, that wound was finally healed. Perhaps in the public mind, the tragedy of Vietnam will be erased and replaced by this victory. We have short memories. And selective ones. That may be wrong, or it may be merciful.
Retired admiral U.S. Grant Sharp, who was in charge of the Pacific Command during much of the Vietnam War, was interviewed on CNN yesterday after the briefing and was asked if he had wished for the kind of autonomy Schwarzkopf has had.
"Did I wish it?" said Sharp, with a derisive laugh. "If I had had the same sort of freedom that Gen. Schwarzkopf has, the Vietnam War would have been over in about 1966. We would have defeated North Vietnam, saved hundreds of American lives, and won the war."
This attitude, and this version of what the lesson of Vietnam is, will become increasingly popular in the wake of the Persian Gulf War, and the wake of the Persian Gulf War appears to be right around the corner.
Gen. Schwarzkopf has also come to epitomize a new American self-confidence. It's the great unspoken boast that one might as well speak: We did something right. We won one. "One of the things that has prevailed . . . is our technology," said Schwarzkopf - and here we thought we were all but technologically disadvantaged compared to some other nations in the world.
For now, despite the casualties and the hardships, and those still to come, there is a sense of moral accomplishment that America, one might say, has felt rarely in recent years. An Arab boy in Kuwait stands to the camera with a handlettered sign on pink cardboard. It says, "Thank you, Mr. Bush, for liberating Kuwait." Maybe you don't want to get a tear in your eye. But you do.
That was how one felt watching Schwarzkopf on Wednesday. Not just terribly impressed, but terribly grateful to have something to be impressed about. Is it a sad comment that it took a war to bring this about? Probably, but there you have it, just the same.
You might have marched around the White House with a candle in your hands to protest the Vietnam War in 1968 yet still feel the proverbial lump in the throat watching Schwarzkopf come this close to wrapping the whole war up. The press in Riyadh was on its best behavior; they were intimidated by the fact that any show of disrespect for the general would look awfully bad on TV screens back home, wherever back home happened to be.
Even the French seemed respectful!
"The war is not over," Schwarzkopf said. "People are still dying out there." There may be other great performances at military briefings yet to come. But if not, this one could certainly serve as a grand finale. Dark portents? Perhaps there are dark portents. They will have to wait for another day. Washington Post Writers Group
by CNB