Tornado: In the Eye of the Storm

by John Nichol

General Norman Schwarzkopf also dealt fulsomely with the concept of ‘regime change’ after the war to liberate Kuwait which had worldwide support, and nine UN resolutions authorising the coalition’s actions. ‘The resolutions that provided the legal basis for our military operations in the Gulf were clear in their intent: kick the Iraqi force out of Kuwait. We had authority to take whatever actions were necessary to accomplish that mission, including attacks into Iraq. We had no authority to invade Iraq for the purpose of capturing the entire country or its capital.’22 Like Baker, he knew that the costs of governing and security would be prohibitive. With some prescience, Schwarzkopf then said: ‘I am certain that had we taken all of Iraq we would have been like the dinosaur in the tar pit, we would still be there. We, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of our occupation. This is a burden I am sure the beleaguered American taxpayer would not have been happy to take on.’