Schwarzkopf Vows Not to Hold Back

Gen. Norman (Stormin’ Norman) Schwarzkopf, commander of the nearly half a million Americans waging war against Iraq, is a tough guy in public whose idea of relaxation is to listen to wild ducks squawk on tape.

But Schwarzkopf likes to think of himself as a teddy bear who can turn into a grizzly when he is riled.

“Under certain circumstances I could be considered a teddy bear,” Schwarzkopf said.

“If we have to go to war, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the image I’m going to portray to Saddam Hussein and the enemy is that of the grizzly bear.

Schwarzkopf, commander of U.S. forces in Operation Desert Shield--renamed Operation Desert Storm at the onset of hostilities--had been readying his troops under the pressure of the Jan. 15 United Nations deadline authorizing force against Iraq unless it ended its 5-month-old occupation of Kuwait.

The veteran of Vietnam, Grenada and Panama has vowed not to “hold anything back” in the war against Iraq.

“The reason I’m going to do that is because I’m a teddy bear and I love my soldiers and sailors and Marines and I don’t want to see them killed,” said Schwarzkopf, 56, a father of three. “If we’re going to have to go to war, we’re going to have to get that damned thing over with.”