Ex-Gulf War Briefer Foresees Fall of Saddam

With Iraq’s army defeated and its economy in shambles, Saddam Hussein is in a tenuous position at home and will be removed from power soon, retired Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Kelly predicted Tuesday

“He is in a curious dilemma,” said Kelly, 58, former chief of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “To recover, Iraq will need the West, and the West won’t help as long as he is in power. . . . He will eventually go.”

Kelly, in mufti and wearing a tie bar bearing the Presidential Seal, made the remarks during a tribute to Medal of Honor winners hosted by Chapman College. Nine recipients of the nation’s highest honor for bravery attended the event at the Hyatt Regency Irvine, including William Barber of Irvine, a retired Marine colonel, and Walter Ehlers of Buena Park.

Barber won the Medal of Honor in Korea. Ehlers, a U.S. Army staff sergeant who won a battlefield commission, was cited for bravery in World War II.

“It’s fantastic,” Ehlers said of Kelly’s visit. “Next to World War II, (Desert Storm) was the best-run war.”

Kelly’s ruddy face and ready quips became familiar to millions of television viewers as he conducted the Pentagon press briefings during the 42-day Persian Gulf War.

After a 34-year hitch in the U.S. Army, Kelly retired in March from a successful, though relatively obscure career until Hussein invaded Kuwait. Since he left the service, Kelly has appeared on the “Tonight Show” and embarked on speaking tours. He is booked solid into 1992 and stands to make upward of $1 million in fees.

Kelly’s message is that the country should be proud of its accomplishments in the Persian Gulf and the dramatic improvements the military has made since the Vietnam War.

“Our objectives in the Gulf were to remove Iraq from Kuwait, destroy Saddam Hussein’s army and stabilize the area. We achieved all three,” Kelly said in an interview before his speech. “The key was our objectives. We did not have a military objective in Vietnam.”

Kelly dismissed criticism that the allies ground assault was prematurely called off against Hussein’s army, which now has been turned against the Kurdish and Shiite rebels.

“The President’s decision was courageous,” he said. “Why should we get more young men killed with Saddam stewing in his own juices?”