(8 Dec 2012)
+4:3 Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf has died in Tampa, Florida
Story No.: 872861
AP TELEVISION
FILE: Camden, New Jersey - 1 August 2000
1. Schwarzkopf arriving for event with US veterans at the USS New Jersey battleship
2. Schwarzkopf speaking to veterans
3. Wide of battleship New Jersey
4. Mid of Schwarzkopf on deck waiting to do video link
4:3 Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf has died in Tampa, Florida
Story No.: 872876
AP TELEVISION
FILE: Arlington, Virginia - 28 February 1999
5. Zoom in on Schwarzkopf placing memorial wreath during ceremony
STORYLINE:
On December 28th 2012 retired General H Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the US-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991 but kept a low public profile in controversies over the second Gulf War against Iraq, died. He was 78.
Schwarzkopf died in Tampa, Florida, where he had lived in retirement, according to a US official, who was not authorised to release the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as "Stormin' Norman" for a notoriously explosive temper.
He served in his last military assignment in Tampa as commander-in-chief of US Central Command, the headquarters responsible for US military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.
Schwarzkopf became "CINC-Centcom" in 1988 and when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait three years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, he commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organised by then-President George H W Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.
At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf - a self-proclaimed political independent - rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC.
While focused primarily in his later years on charitable enterprises, he campaigned for President George W Bush in 2000 but was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and Pentagon predicted.
Initially Schwarzkopf had endorsed the invasion, saying he was convinced that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had given the United Nations powerful evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
After that proved false, he said decisions to go to war should depend on what U.N. weapons inspectors found.
He seldom spoke up during the conflict, but in late 2004, he sharply criticised then-Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon for mistakes that included inadequate training for Army reservists sent to Iraq and for erroneous judgments about Iraq.
After retiring from the Army in 1992, Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography, "It Doesn't Take A Hero."
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and honoured with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.
Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.
Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.
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