Important People

Colin Powell

Colin Powell was born in New York City on April 5, 1937. He was the first African American to fill the national security assistant to the president, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff posts in 1987 and 1989. He served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War (1962-63; 1968- 69) and held executive posts under five presidents including the departments of Energy and Defense while advancing to the rank of general. Powell considered a run for presidency in 1996, he withdrew his name. He is also the author of My American Journey.
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Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein was born in 1937 and ruled Iraq jointly with Ahmad Hasan al- Bakr from 1968 to 1979, when he succeeded al- Bakr as president; he was also prime minister from 1979 to 1991. In August 1990, Hussein invaded and annexed Kuwait, an act condemned by the international community. When he did not withdraw by a UN- imposed deadline of Jan. 15, 1991, a US- led multinational coalition launched the Persian Gulf War; Iraqi forces were swiftly defeated.
After the war, Hussein brutally put down revolts by Iraqi Kurds in the north and dissident Shiites south of Baghdad. In 1995, 99.6% of Iraqi voters approved his continuation in power indefinitely. A 1996 accord allowed Iraq to sell some oil for food and medicine, but United Nations sanctions imposed in 1990 were not lifted- in part because UN inspectors were unable to verify that Iraq had disposed of its weapons of mass destruction. Hussein has continued to test UN and U.S. military action in southern Iraq. In November 1997 he precipitated a fresh crisis by attempting to ban U.S. members of the UN weapons inspections team.
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Norman Schwarzkopf

United States Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf was born in Trenton , N.J. on August 22,1934. He was the commander of the U.S. led coalition of land, sea, and air forces that won in Desert Storm of 1991. Schwarzkopf graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1956 and then became an infantry second lieutenant. In 1964 he received a masters degree from the University of Southern California, where he specialized unguided missile engineering. Later, on July 6, 1968, he married Brenda Holsinger.
As commander in chief of the U.S. led coalition forces sent to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August of 1990, Schwarzkopf coordinated the armed forces of the numerous nations opposed to the expansionism of Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein. He also played an important role in the rapid defeat of Iraqi Forces in early 1991 in operation Desert Storm.