America's imperial ambitions in the Middle East

"Iraq's government-in-waiting held a two-day secret meeting at a Washington military staff college over the weekend with 100 American officials - plus representatives from Britain - discussing plans for post-war reconstruction.

Among those present was believed to have been Jay Garner, the retired lieutenant-general selected by President George Bush to be Iraq's ruler once Saddam Hussein is overthrown.

[...]

Gen Garner is a little-known figure and he has maintained a low profile since his appointment was announced last month. His past experience includes three months in charge of Kurdish resettlement in the months after the 1991 Gulf war.

[...]

He is likely to emerge from obscurity very dramatically in a few weeks' time, although Washington is keen to play down his part and to emphasise that he will mainly be playing a co-ordinating role for work being done by civilians, including UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)."

NGO? - General Garner was

a) Ass. Deputy CoS

"Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I am Major General Jay Garner, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans for Force Development. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the performance of the PATRIOT during the Gulf War. With me are Brigadier General Robert Drolet, Program Executive Officer for Air Defense; Colonel Jim Gustine, Program Manager for the PATRIOT system; Colonel David Heebner, Commander of the US PATRIOT Forces in Israel during the war; Colonel Skip Garrett, Commander of the PATRIOT Forces in Saudi Arabia during the war; Chief Warrant Officer Stewart and Staff Sergeant Lopez who operated the system during the war. Our remarks will be unclassified, but we are prepared to provide classified information should you desire to go into a closed hearing.

The Army is here today to tell you the PATRIOT Story - - a terrific success story, tactically, psychologically, and politically. It is a story of emergency deployments, of soldiers and their equipment, and of a tremendous response by government and industry to an unknown threat. It is a story of a weapon system and soldiers that together provided a critical psychological advantage to our forces and our allies. It is a story of a patriotic and responsive industrial base working day and night to serve our nation and protect our soldiers. Together we helped maintain the solidarity of the Multinational Coalition, and defend United States and Allied forces and civilian populations in the theater of operations."

b) The NMD guy

LTGEN Jay Garner,
Commanding General, U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command
Near-Term National Missile Defense Options
18 June 1996 - House National Security Committee
Subcommittees on Military Research and Development and Military Procurement

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, for the opportunity to appear at this hearing to discuss the Army's missile defense program. As Commander, U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, I have the distinct privilege of directing the activities of. the U.S. Army Space Command, Colorado Springs, CO--the Army User for National Missile Defense; the Missile Defense and Space Technology Center, Huntsville, AL--the Army's development center for Missile Defense technologies; the Kwajalein Missile Range, in the Marshall Islands--the Nation's only full service test range for Ballistic Missile Defense systems; and the High Energy Laser Test Facility at White Sands, New Mexico-- the Nation's most powerful High Energy Laser in support of DoD laser research, development, test, and evaluation. COL(P) Dan Montgomery, the Army's Program Executive Officer for Missile Defense, oversees the development of both Theater and National Missile Defense systems for the Army.

As Commander, U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, I am charged with the responsibility to serve as the Army's focal point and advocate for Space, Theater, and National Missile Defense. Together, PEO-MD and I share a uniquely comprehensive view of the Army's role and responsibilities in Missile Defense. We welcome this opportunity to share our views with you and hope you will find them useful.

Now, let me focus on NMD which is why you asked us here today. First, let me make it clear that there is only one DoD NMD Program. This is the "3+3" Deployment Readiness Program which develops and demonstrates the elements of an initial system over a 3 year period to enable an informed decision to deploy within 3 years thereafter. The Army continues to play a key role in the planning for and execution of this program. With BMDO funding and guidance, we are currently developing the Ground Based Interceptor (GBI), the Ground Based Radar (GBR), and the Site Battle Management/Command, Control, and Communications (Site BM/C3)."