RIP Lt Gen William Odem
On May 30th in Vermont a former Director of the National Security Agency, Russian linguist, and realist passed away. The Washington Post covers the life of William E. Odom, Lieutenant General, US Army (retired):
He had a reputation as a military hard-liner who opposed any compromise with the Soviet Union, which made his vocal opposition to the current involvement in Iraq all the more cogent and surprising.
“Among senior military people, he was probably the first to consider the war in Iraq a misbegotten adventure,” Brzezinski said yesterday. “He believed that we’re just stoking hostility to the United States in that region and developing an opposition that cannot be defeated by military means. He was very outspoken.”
Well before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Gen. Odom warned that military action in Iraq would be foolhardy and futile. He outlined his positions in The Washington Post’s Outlook section Feb. 11, 2007, in the essay “Victory Is Not an Option.”
“The president’s policy is based on illusions, not realities,” he wrote. “There never has been any right way to invade and transform Iraq.”
Gen. Odom became a fixture on news programs and never altered his critical stance toward the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq and Iran. On Tuesday, he and Brzezinski wrote an op-ed article for The Post in which they stated that the White House’s “heavy-handed” approach toward Iran would backfire and “almost certainly result in an Iran with nuclear weapons.”
Earlier in his career, as an Army officer in Vietnam, Gen. Odom had privately come to oppose U.S. involvement in foreign wars that brought, in his view, little benefit to the United States. He drew parallels between Vietnam and Iraq and believed that the only sensible path for the United States was a complete and immediate withdrawal from Iraq.
He was one of the “good guys”, a military leader who said what he thought without regard to politics. He served on Jimmy Carter’s National Security Council and was appointed DirNSA by Ronald Reagan. It should surprise no one that, coming from the same environment, his views on foreign policy and military involvement are nearly, if not totally, identical to mine.
Примите мои самые глубокие соболезнования по случаю кончины Генерала Одэма.
6 comments
Yes, he was a wise warrior. What a sad waste in today’s World. *sigh* We are fast running out of honorable, intelligent men.
And my deepest condolences also.
If I met him it was only in passing in Germany. There was a “situation” where he certainly would have been in attendance, although name tags were certainly optional for all concerned.
We came up with the same set of rules that seem to have gotten lost. People have no idea how bad things had to get before anyone with our rules would speak publicly. It was sobering when I figured out who he was.
I understand that. I’ve kept my mouth shut (except for a few *inner circle*) for almost 30 years. But soon, it will be my time. 🙂 Only one of the people involved who deserves my silence remains, and that person is getting old. And the 30 year gag order is expiring, and more is being revealed weekly. Many of the guilty here, in the USA and the UK must be getting very worried. And so they should!
Anyway, it’s not about me. It’s about something Gen Odom would have understood. Honor. I am honor bound, and I take that seriously. There will be an accounting, the debts will be paid. 🙂
I do not think I ever met Gen Odom, but I may have been where he had been, and I had heard of him.
We have a 50 year hold, so I can talk about what my Dad was doing on the bayou, but it will be a while before I can go into what I did.
There are things I would have loved to have discussed before anyone named Bush ran for office, but I’m limited to saying I would never vote for one.
There is no honor in assisting fascists in betraying our Constitution in illegal wars of aggression based on transparent lies.
All military personel take an oath to uphold the Constitution which makes each of you honor bound to resist, stop and overthrow the traitors in charge of our government who committed the 9/11 Inside Job. The Bush crime family and the republican party subverted the laws put in place by our Founding Fathers, enacting the anti-American Patriot Act and stealing two presidential elections with the help of the Supreme Court and a complacent corporate media.
Any soldier who fails to speak out against and/or take up arms against the Cheney/Bush junta and participates in their criminal republican war of imperialism is a traitor.
The war crimes committed by the Bush regime using troops subservient to their evil agenda have brought dishonor daily to our country.
Nick, the military obeys the civilian leader placed over it, unless what is being ordered is clearly illegal. If it didn’t we would have military coups in this country. It is the people who are supposed to deal with bad political leaders.
It is the function of Congress, as the representatives of the people, who are supposed to impeach bad leaders. This is a failure of Congress, not the military.