General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

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My university brought in yet another fine speaker last night - General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. This one was a much bigger occasion than Greg Gumble on Thursday night, complete with valet parking, non-free tickets, and about 50 or so protesters. Protesters at this university are somewhat amusing - when it comes to campus activism, we aren't exactly Berkley, Iowa City, or Madison. The focus of the protest were the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died since the Gulf War, assumably because of the sanctions the rest of the world places on that county. I believe our sanctions are the result of a distrust of Saddam Hussein, a man we essentially chose to leave in power. If you're going to protest Schwarzkopf, I really don't think this is the right topic. I read his autobiography twice and I know how he felt about not "finishing" our military action in the Gulf War. The decision to leave Saddam in power was clearly made higher up. Oh well, I suppose some people just need something to protest. Just think - if it weren't for the leadership of Schwarzkopf and men like him, they could have been protesting the continued occupation of Kuwait.

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