Rumsfeld's first big mistake was elevating General Meyers
over the front runner Admiral Dennis C. Blair, Pacific Command,
for Chief of Staff. Meyers was of the 'build missiles to shoot down
missiles' ilk. What a wrong signal to send! In that race it was also
noted by the Pilot that there was a 'retired Marine general' running
as a dark horse. That could be none other than Krulac. I have gone
through Blair's speeches on the Internet. He is a deep insider,
Rhodes Scholar, etc., but a forward thinker. One speech, about one
month post 9/11, (Oct 16th I think), given in Monterey, you can go
toward the end of the speech and think about what he means by
referring to the FBI and CIA as "...Stovepipes..." He hints that
they are too self contained and not sharing information. Blair by
action seems to favor far more open communication on security
issues and is even a major part of a private Internet site, APN (Asian
Pacific Network) wherein anyone anywhere can discuss security
issues. He even allows pieces to be posted greatly critical of some
of his Indonesian operations gone bad, naming him as personally
responsible. This Admiral was asked by Congress what he thought
of an Iraq invasion. He replied something to the effect that it was
not too smart, leaving the US military very over extended.
Suddenly in the press I hear that an Admiral Fargo is now Pacific
Command and nothing about Admiral Blair. I have not checked,
but think perhaps another 'early retirement'. With Rumsfeld,
personal loyalty to him is everything, even though the Admiral said
nothing until he was asked.
Same with General Buck Kernan. Kernan plays close to the
vest, in that respect he is very unlike say either Admiral Blair or the
outspoken General Krulac. After Kernan's insulting introduction by
the Pilot he was even then further slurred on front page of the large
US circulation USA Today. Apparently Kernan stated the obvious
that an invasion of Iraq at this time, particularly with fleet conditions
would leave the entire military very overextended. The one word
quote given by USA Today was "Tired". Kernan, a Staff Sgt. to
OCS maverick, who commanded a Ranger Battalion in Nam and
went on to commanding an airborne division then Fort Bragg, a
man who at a ripe age parachuted in with his own troops in Panama
would well know what 'tired' is! But, to the unknowing public this
fine general was made to look like some cartoon general in the New
Yorker. Such was the mass media treatment of any who in
intelligence and common sense countered the nuttiness of Rummy.
Good Lord, Buck Kernan never offered this information. His
opinion and council was asked by Congress! I am in the habit of
going through speeches by senior officers on the Internet. Kernan
keeps his opinions to himself. Besides silly jokes about fishing with
dynamite, they are, unlike Krulac and Blair, devoid of any
controversy. And yet this is the man who gets spin/twisted into yet
another 'early retirement'. It is with at least some respectful
payback that Kernan is now retained as a paid military consultant by
CBS. One would hope that Kernan's private candid council behind
the scenes would be more than acknowledged but understood by
CBS. But, unfortunately, knowing the mindless direction of the
upper media tycoons, I find that doubtful.
General Charles Krulac, former US Marine Commandant,
has an interesting deep insider background. The grandfather, a
European immigrant, made some sums in the mining industry out
West. His father, Victor 'Brute' Krulac, almost made Commandant
and there is some controversy concerning the manner in which his
father influenced President Kennedy to get more involved in
Vietnam. Charles has a twin brother who is an Episcopalian
minister with ties to the St. Marys finishing school in Virginia, a
school for 'heiresses to be', a job more of money 'guidance and
watch'..., again a family of deep insiders. I will touch on the
Norwegian Lady aspect of Norfolk later. The opposite of Kernan,
Charles Krulac, at least certainly in the mid nineties, had a
reputation of being very outspoken. Just my opinion, but I would
say that whatever truth there is concerning his father's controversy
you cannot compare Charles to Victor any more than comparing
John Kennedy to Joe Kennedy, and it would seem in both cases the
sons used the positions to great honor, doing so beyond what the
fathers could accomplish but using the father's knowledge. Beyond
honor, General Krulac has a broad strategic mind, taking his
advanced degrees in more people orientated labor management then
tech gadget stuff, the more common road. Krulac's retirement
'Strategic Corporal' speech was, if memory serves, given in Norfolk
(I might be wrong). However, those ideas are now rewritten by him
and form the introduction to a book on terrorism which is published
on the Internet. A simple search should get it, and should be now
required reading for all officers. The writing flows so well that one
is apt to miss the enormity of the implications. How empires
collapse should be well thought upon, and though the 'strategic
corporal' begs what kind of minds and, for want of a better word,
'chivalry' would be in the future now required by a lieutenant, how
many follow the reasoning?
Mike Boorda....?...! Good Lord, Doc, when was that?
1996. I now sit in the very same room overlooking Waquoit Bay on
Cape Cod where, flight 800 just or soon to be downed, (forget exact
sequence), but upon hearing of Boorda's murder I ran around
ranting, "...One damn bullet to the heart.... They should have gut
shot the sonofabitch and made him crawl around before he
died...!!!!" How greatly I misjudged this man. Now, some years
later Admiral Boorda with me ranks up with Konstantin Chernenko
with the men in modern history that I most admire! Boorda was
scheduled to speak at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy two
days before the Marine shot him, and a large headline had appeared,
"HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE FOR HIGH RANKING
NAVAL OFFICER TO SPEAK AT MARITIME ACADEMY"
Trained as a child in 'reading the billboards' or
more technically 'steganoghraphy' (open messages designed to be
read in more than one manner), I knew the issue, but did not have at
that time the overall perspective, or saw the true implications. One
of my girlfriend's son's friends, Jared Swain, was attending Mass
Maritime then, and that day he was hanging around with a group of
Josh's friends drinking Budweisers. I began ranting around the
room and at one point showed the headline to Jared and screaming
asked "... Well, you attend Mass Maritime. Just exactly what is
'inappropriate' here...?" Of course he didn't know, nor did
anyone else in the room, it was a high level message. And, of
course, the kids thought me mad. Though too long to detail here,
Doc, I will try to give a very brief explanation: Regarding the old
non-use-of-nuke deal above, it is the most serious, (though secret
and in the US illegal, i.e. unratified), deal on the planet. It is the glue
of international secret or shadow government. I will state without
explanation that I then knew that there was a former breach or
cheating on that deal that was just coming to light. I also knew, first
hand, that high ranking United States officers were just becoming
aware of that cheating. And it was the United States, the party who
originally proposed the deal, that got caught, even 'historical' as it
was. You can reason the severity, but need to have lived through
tricky situations to appreciate the extreme level or amount of that
severity. In the formation of the United States there was reason to
fear that the military would have too much power. The normal
Constitutional checks were, of course, in place. But furthering that
it was decided that the higher forms of intelligence would be kept
more private (here read separate from military) in the 'merchant'
class. By 'merchant' in this day and age you can read 'media'.
And it is, the public continually fed the erroneous impression that
the media is somehow out of government 'charging at government
like a white knight'. This also explains why the deeper military
secrets are kept more within the Army, and why by some deeper
traditions officers in all branches defer to the Army, or why at some
levels Army officers 'outrank' officers of other branches of equal
rank. Thinking back to the formation of the United States,
merchant power that it was, and the Navy talking to God knows
who, that this was a natural, pragmatic precaution. At the time
stupid Michael was seeing Admiral Boorda's statement, (and by
daring to break long tradition speak at a Merchant Academy under
those circumstances this was a LARGE international statement), as
some sort of statement of uncalled for military control.
Understand, Doc, that it mattered little what he would have said,
perhaps a high level hint in the speech or not no matter. It was
speaking at the Mass Academy itself that was the larger message.
Only later, in Norfolk, was I to understand what he was truly about.
He was not suggesting some military 'takeover' against civilian
control, but more (and better) that because the media 'secret
government' control was so sloppy, (well..., outright cheating goes
far beyond sloppy!) that the international militaries needed, direct
military to military 'nuke' intelligence bypassing states and others as
a check. This is very forward thinking! However, at the same time
the powers-that-be would feel that they were being undermined or
at least with diluted power. Mike Boorda had put his finger right
into the highest nexus of power. How poignant then that 'too
political' (ha) Admiral Gehman, working military to military with
NATO nations in effect was in a degree following Boorda's
footsteps. Boorda will speak from the grave on this for some time
to come! Working for you, Doc, I came to know the true wisdom,
honor and reputation of Mike Boorda, truly a giant of a man. I
remember an officer in the back seat of Car 2 whose breast was
swelling almost to the point of tears remembering that he had
received his commission directly from the Admiral. And the sailors
universally loved him.
I understand that Admiral Gehman pops in and out of Camp
Peary. He 'early retired' stating that he would continue to work on
strategic issues. He led the Cole investigation, and though now as a
Virginia Beach accident investigator, as high level as the Challenger
is, it at least keeps him in the game and gives him access to
Congress for the other issues as well.
What stands out to me about these variously 'retired'
admirals and generals, Krulac, Blair, Kernan, Gehman, Boorda and
Van Riper is that any of them, grossly different in personality as
they are, would make (or would have made) an excellent President
of the United States, and stand head and shoulders above any of
those throwing in hats from your Congress. Why are these men
gone?
Attached to this letter is an op ed that appeared (page A20)
in the April 2nd edition of the New York Times. The by-line tag
from the article stated that, "Joseph P. Hoar, a retired Marine
general, was commander in chief, United States Central Command,
1991 to 1994." Risking redundancy let me quote two parts again..."
1- "Today, however, nobody outside a small circle of players
knows exactly who developed the plan for the invasion or what the
prevailing views were."
2- "... I hope the Senate will again hold hearings. This time,
perhaps, the senior military commanders and the civilian defense
officials can testify as to exactly how the plan was developed."
In twelve short pithy paragraphs the general goes to the heart
of the problem. Whoever is running the show, they have become so
insular in thinking that they are flat out dangerous. Is it any wonder
that many of the mid grade officers I spoke with in Norfolk had one
short military blunt word for Rummy..., "Nuts."
However, there is one statement that General Hoar made,
that even though he qualified with the word "...probably...," and
clearly stated the origin of the beliefs, that I disagree with. Here is
the paragraph...:
"In the White House, as in the Clinton administration,
there is a belief among civilians that military technology has
advanced to the point where wars can be won with relatively few
ground forces. There will probably be a time in the future where
this is so. Until then, soldiers and marines, in large numbers, will
still be required to seize and hold terrain." General Hoar.
Knowing nothing about General Hoar beyond this op ed
(attached), I emphatically disagree that wars can in any future be
won with fewer ground forces. In fact, technology is turning against
itself in modern war. Assuming 'nuking to glass' is not an option,
modern warfare relies mainly on planes and ships. As technology is
developing, more and more easily can ships be sunk and (in the not
too far future) planes downed. The types of attacks that General
Van Riper demonstrated against surface ships can be likened to the
invention of the longbow wherein simple rearrangements of known
and very available technology can completely alter the course of
warfare. Bows and arrows prior to the longbow were very old. But
some yeoman for some reason decided to wake up one day and
make himself a very long one. It pierced armor and this changed
everything. What an affront that a simple peasant could now take
out a knight. Mostly likely this affront was offensive to some uppity
knights, "Fought in many a battle and no yon yeoman will take out
me...!" "Perhaps, Sir Uppyhad, as you are so fond of your new
armor suit, you should, before you ride out there, stuff yon pig in
your old armor and see what Yeoman York can do with his bow at
sixty paces."
The body politic of Norfolk had refused, nearly a year ago,
(and prior to Van Riper's revelations), a simple demonstration
wherein with the help of an expert local fisherman, such as Robert
Holloway, a few Exotic missiles would be hidden on the seabed.
One of those many derelicts on the James River could be anchored
out in the Chesapeake. The navy could run through with as many
sonar devices, dolphins, or drones as they wished. If they located
the missiles, fine. If not the missiles would pop from the seabed,
take out the derelict, and provide an excellent fishing ground for the
local sportsman. The ship would be sunk. The city that hosted
Billy Mitchell could not even give the time of day to Yeoman York.
With technology turning upon itself, the day that Third
World powers can easily down sophisticated warplanes is not far
off. These technologies will quickly go so far beyond devices such
as the 'Stinger' that the 'Stinger' would be more like Washington
putting a chain across the Hudson. You need not destroy the plane,
just the electronics. Energy directed technologies are in their
infancy, but as they do develop will spread cheaply and easily. I
have had some correspondence with Alex Frolov in Leningrad on
this matter. He was in some manner attached to the Russian Navy
as he had an <
...@admiral.ru> address, but is now in charge of
something called the Faraday Institute. As to what is now available
compared to what will be in the very near future he stated that what
is now available are, "....Toys, mere toys."
Norfolk reaction? I would expect more head-in-sand, more
sea drone contracts and calls to see how one could invest in
hardened circuit technology. More dangerous assumptions.
Perhaps it could be put another way. One could imagine that a
multibillion dollar satellite could spot a light infantry platoon most
anywhere on earth, and indeed it most probably could. But it
should be realized that the day is soon where that multibillion dollar
satellite would become at target of a light infantry platoon most
anywhere on earth. Tech turns upon itself, low beating high.
Will ever the day come when, as General Hoar suggests, the
Senate would hold hearings that would be broad and deep enough
to be reasonable? Who exactly would host those hearings?
Virginia's Armed Services head, Senator Warner? Norfolk should
know better than to wait on that frigid hour of Hades!
Once again there has been a raid upon my stack of
NYTimes to start the wood stove, and I am at loss to remember the
Russian general's name who was advising Saddam Hussein. If this
is the general that I am thinking of, he is a man of no mean
experience and talent, and was in no manner incompetent but
merely tardy. Would anyone on that never-to-be Senate hearing
even go as far as to contemplate what would have happened had this
Russian general had say three or four years preparation and
Rumsfeld's initial plan was used? Or have the vision to see what
this could have been like five years down the road with even the
'best' plan?
Jean and I had dinner at Kelly's in Ghent. A stately, elderly
couple came in and sat at an adjoining table. He was a retired Army
officer from Portsmouth, and she had some sort of position in Joint
Forces Command. We chatted on many of these subjects, and his
final reaction was, "....Yes, and I have been feeling and saying this
for years. We are doomed. We are doomed. We are doomed."
Yes, but whose fault, and is there even mollifying remedy?
Using the collective pronoun, I would say it is your fault, Doc,
the fault of Norfolk body politic. The 'retired generals' that
Rummy was defensively belching about were late, only speaking up
when a near disaster approached. And where has been the historical
center of this voice? Norfolk. Where else could you point the
blame, Doc? Fargo? Cedar Rapids? Muncie?
Perhaps you might think I went on too much concerning the
lack of upscale policing in Norfolk, but I am trying to point out what
this is symptomatic of. Donna Britt, a Norfolk Councilwoman,
must go as far as file a protective Racketeering case against the
NPD..., a case before Masonic One Jerome Freedman who
dishonorably slaps thirty grand against her, and forces her to realize
that she must somehow go beyond the 'packed' Fourth Circuit to
get any semblance of justice. Would this happen in other cities? I
don't think so. I have been asked on the East stand more than once
if I thought the NPD officer that was helping her was murdered in
Chesapeake. Car 28 or 36, at any rate the retired Chesapeake police
officer, asked on a number occasions. I have not a clue, but would
certainly not be surprised. The nation's phone companies, by RR
Donnelley proxy, set up telemarketing centers at Military Circle
committing gross interstate banking card fraud throughout the
nation. There is not one other city in the United States where such
gross, widely known about, white collar crime could go on without
either the local DAs or DoJ slapping a RICO charge against these
people. And with all this bloody murder after bloody murder after
bloody murder. Such as the former wife of Colonel Griggs
(Suzanne Werkman), a crushed skull type of heart failure. Or the
World Trade accountant (or secretary to Jerome Booken-Weiner)
who took a James Forrestal type 'assisted' header out of an Old
Dominion window. The poor fellow who took a header of the
Lesner Bridge into a mud flat in 84, Les Andrews. Upscale he was
not, but even a cursory investigation would have seen what upscale
situation his libido was interfering with. Norfolk Traffic might
consider "Watch Out For Falling Bodies" signs. What about the
murder of Peter Fitzpatrick? He was NY World Trade Center, but
certainly his murder came about because of his knowledge of
Norfolk World Trade Center. A wonderful man. And George
Heilig...? ! Good Lord, Doc, you even murder your State Senators.
And Dr. Praudy Tate? Murdered. Richard Obenschein, murdered.
Without going on to a list that could go for pages, just to mention a
few Norfolk murders with international implications.
Oh, lets mention a few more murders...: The former Pilot
editor's (Perry Morgan) wife, Bunny. John S. Waller's wife,
Noani. Oh yes, that was Walter, Todd and Sadler architects. Did
what? Oh, yes SACLANT. So many wives knew too much. What
were they? More Forrestal headers or just poisonings? High end?
What about Winsor Castle's Lord Halifax and his wife, Lady
McMillan? That was London, but they had just transferred from
Norfolk. Of course. What was the real estate company involved in
the Norfolk World Trade, 'top floor'. Goodman, Hogan, Segar?
Many of these 84, "Year of the spy", but they continue.
What about the murder of the French national wife of the
Ponce naval officer? I forget the Lieutenant's name except that his
then mother-in-law is Francine Pellegrin (also French national) who
now lives in South Carolina. Knowledge of some laptops. The
French government did not understand? They are what, Dr. Odom,
stupid? Just rename French fries as 'Ghent fries' takes care of that,
right? International? Drive down to 25th Street on the Oceanfront
and read the second, smaller bronze plate on the statue of the
Norwegian Lady. Murdered in Moss, Norway because it might
have canceled a Norwegian 'trust checking' trip. Granted that the
Norwegian Lady protects one of the largest international private
trusts ever. The Oceanfront statue here is owned by Norway, and
the twin statue in Moss owned by a Virginia corporation. Here,
back in the age of sail, a Norwegian sea captain, just trading in good
Norwegian wood for what everyone needed - barrel staves,
managed to collect together some large international trusts that grew
and grew. Now large and sensitive enough of a situation that on at
least one occasion the King and Queen of Norway popped over to
NOB to check on this. But some would think this need fall only to
the 'right' hands. Whatever that would be. The Norwegian Lady is
known to be the subject of continual Israeli snooping. You are a
man of some means, Doc. How would your departed ghost feel if,
for example, if Judy was by conniving and illegal means stripped
from the benefits of your will? Do you not think even casual
visitors to Norfolk hear of these things? Of course they do.
And so why is this? It is because Norfolk has been
completely cowed by a few well organized dishonorable men who,
privy to 'grander' international agreements, travel the world from
Norfolk to meet with other 'bunker boys' in silly little bunkers in
stupid caps and capes giving themselves little smarmy initiations and
knighthoods. When Jean and I took leave of the retired Army
officer and his lady friend I said how glad that I had spent time in
Norfolk, stating that Norfolk is a serious city that handles the serious
issues. We mused then that present Norfolk would have the same
undercurrents and tones as those pregnant months and weeks just
prior to the Civil War. But agreed too that now the important talk is
suppressed beyond any value. How better could I put this, Doc?
For every one of those on an almost endless list of high end Norfolk
murders how many people per murder are simply intimidated and
cowed into silence? How many are just threatened? Were I a
centipede I would not have enough fingers and toes to count the
number of times I have heard that the head of Norfolk Naval NIS
beats his Filipino wife. Allegations, yes, but when Norfolk smoke
covers most the Eastern Seaboard there must be some fire
someplace. Just exactly how does a sailor sitting on an NOB or
NAB quarterdeck feel sitting under the pasty smile of CNO Vern
Clark, when so many know, to various degrees granted, that the
very best and most loved of Clark's predecessors was murdered.
That was a Norfolk planned and arranged murder too, Pentagon or
not. Even I was surprised at how many either sense or believe fully
Boorda was murdered. And absolutely I know how the sailors feel.
I have talked to so many. It varies from sullen to angry.
It is joked about that SACLANT is Israeli wired to the tee.
Of this I don't know. But do understand that the same Lynnhaven
firm built the Norfolk World Trade, wired for sure, housing such
things as Norfolk Office, Department of Justice. Oh yes, Waller
again. Waller, Todd and Sadler. As in older sensitive military
facility building firms such as Proudfoot, these are super insider
companies.
Whereas some high end military murders such as Marine
Colonel Sabow or Colonel Agenbroad in El Toro get at least some
coverage, in Norfolk such murders 'just don't happen'.
As we left the trendy joke around Norfolk was this...:
"Imagine a big plate of spaghetti. Now imagine a whole shaker of
military unit markers. Shake them over the spaghetti. Now, of
course, you need some arrows. So, you have another shaker of
little arrows, some straight, some curved. Shake the arrows on.
OK. What have you got...........? That's General Montgomery and
General Patton's assault on Sicily reworked by Rumsfeld's Joint
Forces Command."
Unfortunately the real humor of this will be lost in the
present erstwhile triumph. What really happened is that Rummy et
al used a good concept, services better working together, to hide
within that a very deliberately scrambled mess, instances where at
times a jr. officer in one service would outrank a senior officer of
another, etc., to hide mechanisms where no one except very deep
insiders would know what is going on. Then bury these
mechanisms with bunker boys in Tampa, or, as he even
contemplated, and tried to do, take the 'war making' out of Norfolk
and bury it in yet another bunker in Colorado. Who does all the
hiding serve?
The final and complete loss, the final nail in the coffin that
had Norfolk loose influence in NATO, and therefore the world was
when Rumsfeld attempted to place Admiral Edmond P.
Giambastiani as head of the traditionally combined and traditionally
American positions of Joint Forces Command and NATO Atlantic
Command replacing Kernan. How on lizard's earth did Rummy
ever think Giambastiani could get confirmed by NATO? Obviously
Rummy thought he could get away with this or he would have never
made the attempt. Certainly no one else thought so. People
everywhere, I among them, were writing friends in Europe asking
them to write their particular defense ministries saying, God forbid.
Don't confirm him. And in Prague Giambastiani was not
confirmed. Giambastiani might make a good corporation officer,
but he had never even commanded a warship and was certainly,
though field grade, not a field officer. Obvious to the world was
that Giambastiani's only real qualification was his history of sucking
up to Rummy. This left a mess wherein a complete loss is called a
'transition', and a British Admiral, Ian Forbes, is left in charge of a
string of nearly empty desks. However did Norfolk let this happen?
Norfolk is a serious city, and as the sun sets over the bay and
Caleb's pond in Waquoit I have many memories. We went to hear
Admiral Stansfield Turner speak at a community college in
Hampton. The audience was a surprising mere smattering. A few
kids, most likely only there to complete some ploy sci assignments
and some scattered crusty yawning gray haired men and bejewelled
blue hairs who gaffed at, "You may fire when ready, Gridley."
And the former CIA head even had a handler! He can't speak for
himself? The questions had to be passed up and edited in or out by
some bearded worm. I had a choice of either penning a question
that would easily be accepted, or asking one that would make the
little beard choke. I chose the latter, concerning flight 800 and
watched him read it three times glaring menacing around the
audience as he placed it on the bottom of the pack.
I took Car 2 all the way to DC to hear Admiral Moore speak
on the twenty year old Liberty attack. A day's lease out of pocket
was certainly worth that. I was invited by Jose Linde. Her father
was for some time the president of Time. Her brother was the
senior naval intelligence officer on the Liberty. He was told by the
captain to go as high as he could to identify the planes. They
strafed him, and came back some time later to strafe, against
Geneva convention, his dead body on a stretcher. Moore spoke at
the Army Navy Club on Faraget Square, and though packed with
admirals, the crowd nearly genuflected when the former Chief of
Staff came in with his stately wife. Admiral Moore had for many
years supported Commander Donaldson's investigation of flight
800. The world lost a brave and honest man when the Commander
died of brain cancer. I had for some years on lists agreed with the
Commander's findings, but argued against his conclusion that it was
just terrorism. Then again, Donaldson had admitted, most clearly in
a radio broadcast, that his expertise was limited to air crash
investigations, and until that time had mainly believed what he read
in the press. Hundreds of witnesses saw in video the missile hit the
plane right on CNN. And about as many witnesses swear on Bibles
that they watched CNN news all during that time and saw no such
video. Both groups told the truth. For the public that did not
believe the first story, a secondary lie was covertly created. This
was that flight 800 was some US naval exercise where there was an
'error'. Books were subsidised and many fell for this. I had
maintained on the flight 800 list that it was a payback, agreed to by
all, after the US was found cheating on the most serious deal on the
planet, the old non-use-of-nukes deal. Certainly the gross variation
in the CNN witnesses fit this picture and none other. CNN is cable,
and a limited viewing, for sting, would seem to have been part of
the deal. Great effort was made to spin the testimony of the
witnesses, Perry et al, on Fire Island, who saw a naval vessel very
close to the beach. They stated that the warship had "...A very
large globe on it..," making other statements to indicate that the
globe was unusually large. They were then showed (by who?) a
very small picture of an American destroyer out of Jane's. This
picture was so small that little 'balloons' were used, much like the
speech balloons in cartoons which, if you did not look close,
merged with the outline. There is only one warship on the planet
that fits the visual description. It is not American, but a British
frigate, the H.M.S. Norfolk! At that time it was commanded by a
British officer, until then a submariner, who ended up as the recent
Deputy Atlantic Command, NATO, stationed at Norfolk. He left
that post about six months ago, (sorry that the admiral's name slips
me). I understand that he made some pithy remarks at a going away
function that was open to the public. I could never find out the vein
of those remarks, but sorry I missed that. To some extent I
prevailed well on the flight 800 list. Though could offer no proof of
my contentions many emailed me on the side saying that I had the
only scenario that fit all the evidence. And a number of those
added, in one way or another, that if what I was saying was true, it
was just so huge and awful to contemplate. And that I understand.
Norfolk and the military presence has sobered and matured me.
230 innocent lives were lost on 800. Slowly, over the years in
Norfolk, I went from playing '...ain't it awful..' games in my head
concerning those lives to appreciating the awesome and august
decisions that must be made my senior military men, men who were
given situations they did not create. Now, I would say that we all
were, to one degree or another, responsible for those lives by
ignoring the completely illogical theatre we have been given by the
mass media concerning the nuclear issue.
I was blessed by having wonderful employers in Norfolk.
Southern Pest Control, off Lynnhaven in the Beach, was also a well
managed, family held company where I often returned to visit while
driving for you. For about eight months there I went through some
sort of unofficial 'intake' or something by the Navy. Soon after I
started an active duty SEAL, a non com, Chief Chuck Awanna took
the desk across from me. The Chief was a man of broad
intelligence and well versed in many areas and issues. Within a few
days we got into a conversation on some issues. Chuck he said that
he wanted to talk about these issues, but cautioned me that he would
only talk if I used no specific names. I certainly thought that odd,
but soon was to discover, both by his admission and the office
poop, that he was on some sort of special assignment reporting
directly to the Pentagon. Never once did management ever so much
as blink at the inordinate amount of time for eight full months we
spent outside talking instead of working. It became obvious not
only to myself, but the whole office, that I was the 'assignment' as
he could, with the hours, spend no more than an hour a day at Little
Creek. Soon the 'no proper name' restriction was lifted (by
whom?) and these broad discussions were, for me, a breath of fresh
air. The desks were close, and a few times he would make a loud
remark to another, in one case concerning 800, that I right after (but
too late) saw was designed to test the firmness of my convictions on
certain issues. There were areas that I would not go to, felt them
too personal, and possibly damaging to parties to no good cause. I
was, a number of times tested in that specific area, and in one very
open exchange, as some information was concocted to see if I
would play into it, I replied so all could hear, "....You can turn that
scouting boat back north, Chief." I mused at times that the proper
names that both Chuck's handlers and I were avoiding were the
same. Chuck was after many months replaced, this time an officer
named Lenny who I found dull and simply avoided. Though there
was much comfort in being able to discuss issues with aware and
believing people, a feeling of 'in from the cold', even then the lack
of committing them to paper, of the possibility of some larger effect
was missing. I have more than half completed a book covering
these subjects, JOHN ( Lehman, Head of Secret Government,
Leader of the New World Order) & 'SCARLET'. Of the
publishers I have contacted, either they just wanted it sent to them to
gather information (with no intention of publishing) or they are
simply afraid. So, Doc, I thank you for this opportunity.
You, Doc, like Buck Kernan, are very private. Besides
hearing that you are 'conservative', as friendly as you are, you are
not forward with opinion. With that in mind, I know I take some
risk if I proffer some remedy to the generalized failings I tossed on
Norfolk. Yet I know I will have no other opportunity to speak out.
But, for what it is worth...; I believe the problem lies in the body
politic of Norfolk. And this a conglomeration of ideas. Most all of
the political ideas are created or controlled in Norfolk by the media.
The ability to directly influence media in Norfolk is zero. But
indirectly? In the year prior to 9/11 whose opinions in the general
population were the media kingpins most concerned about? That is
easy, just go back and see what segment of the population they were
polling. The media polled in great depth the attitudes of American
military officers and retired officers. With designs on Iraq the
media knew that the masses minds would be easy. Not as easy to
control the minds of those more versed in war. If you would do
anything with this letter, Doc, place it those hands.