Joseph Hoar

General Joseph P. Hoar is the former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (1991-1994) and U.S. Marine Corps Chief of Staff of operations during the 1991 Gulf War.

"General Hoar retired as the Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. In this capacity he was the Commander in Chief of the unified command that had the planning and operational responsibilities for 19 countries in the Middle East, South Asia and the Horn of Africa. During his tenure he assisted in enforcing the naval embargo in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, he enforced the no-fly zone in the south of Iraq and supported other humanitarian and peacekeeping operations." [1]

• Director, Strategic Renaissance 21

On the War in Iraq

Horad told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the prospects in Iraq were bleak. "I believe we are absolutely on the brink of failure. We are looking into the abyss," he said. [2]

Nor did he have much time for the Bush administration personnel directing the war. "The policy people in both Washington and Baghdad have demonstrated their inability to do a job on a day-to-day basis this past year," he said. [3]

SourceWatch Resources

• Bush regime
• Operation Iraqi Freedom: Military and Political Dissent

External links

• Hearing Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Day 1 Panels II and III, July 31, 2002.
• "Should U.S. Invade Iraq? As the Bush Administration considers its options for dealing with Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Tufts experts weigh in", Tufts University, August 5, 2002. "The [1956] Tufts graduate also cited the necessity of an exit strategy for U.S. troops, once they successfully remove Hussein from power." Statement by General Hoar.
• Ron Hutcheson, Jodi Enda and Diego Ibarguen, "Retired general warns Congress of Iraq war costs", Knight Ridder, September 23, 2002: ""The result would be high casualties on both sides, as well as in the civilian community," former Gen. Joseph Hoar told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 'U.S. forces would certainly prevail, but at what cost, and at what cost as the rest of the world watches while we bomb and have artillery rounds exploded in densely populated Iraqi neighborhoods.' ... Hoar, who replaced Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf as the top U.S. commander in the Middle East after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, urged Congress to 'slow down and be cautious' before committing to military action. ... But retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney told the same congressional panel that the United States could gain effective military control within 72 hours with a blitz attack combining precision air strikes, fast-moving ground troops, covert operations and support from Iraqi rebels."
• Raphael Epstein, "US leaks insight into Iraq war plans", ABC News (Australia), November 11, 2002. Interview with General Hoar, who "told a US Senate Committee, fighting in cities could produce hundreds of allied casualties each day."
• "Gen. Hoar Calls for Full Senate Hearings on Iraq War Debacle", New York Times, April 2, 2003: "He cites the criticisms by Generals Eric Shinseki and Gen. James L. Jones from last winter, over the number of troops being planned, and also the statement by battlefield Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, who said, 'the foe he is facing is very different from the one we'd war-gamed against.'"
• Jim Lobe, "Rumsfeld Under Heavy Fire at Home", Inter Press Service, April 2, 2003: "A coalition of retired senior military officers, moderate Republicans, and even some civilian hawks who have strongly supported Rumsfeld's efforts to 'transform' the U.S. military, is increasingly taking aim at the Pentagon chief, whom they accuse of intimidating the uniformed military and needlessly alienating Washington's European allies."
• "Analysis: Joint Chiefs of Staff to Meet With President Bush on Possible War Against Iraq", National Public Radio, September 26, 2002.
• "A Risky Strain on an Overstretched Army. 'Iraq is Gallipoli not Normandy'", Washington Post, October 12, 2003.
• "Profile: Possible Consequences Of Iraqi War Without U.N. Support", National Public Radio, October 30, 2002. Comment by Gen. Hoar.
• Jim Gransbery, "Quitting Iraq tricky, Roundup general says", Billings Gazette, November 7, 2003: "Marine Gen. Joseph Hoar and retired Air Force Col. Richard Klass ... in a special commentary for the Washington Post two weeks ago, said the Iraqi War was stretching the Army 'to the breaking point' and had diverted resources from combating terrorism, the primary threat to U.S. security. The war is also draining money from homeland security needs and weapons of mass destruction, if they ever existed, are now loose in a dangerous world for use against the United States. And, the war has created a failed state in Iraq and U.S. unilateralism has 'weakened and embittered' U.S. allies and undercut the United Nations. ... Hoar and Klass said, 'The most urgent task is to relieve the heavy burden on the U.S. Army, the troops and their families. They are virtually the only Americans now sacrificing in this war.' ... Failure to get substantial international participation will force the call-up of more National Guard and Reserve units and the expansion of the army as soon as possible, they said."
• "Latest military mission adds strain to already-burdened system," New York Times, March 2, 2004: "Joseph Hoar, a retired four-star Marine general, said, 'There's no question that we have to respond to instability in this hemisphere.' ... But even a modest mission, if it lasts long, could be felt in other operations, Hoar said: 'It could disrupt [Marine Corps] training to be ready to go to Iraq.'"
• Mark Perry, "Nearly Fifty Senior Retired Military Officers Seek NMD Postponement," Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, March 26, 2004. Letter sent to President Bush includes signatories.