Air Force Chief Fired for Remarks on Iraq Strikes

When I read Gen. Michael J. Dugan’s comments in my Sunday Times, I said to myself, this guy’s got to go (“U.S. War Plan in Iraq: ‘Decapitate’ Leadership,” front page, Sept. 16). Now he’s gone (Air Force Chief Fired by Cheney,” front page, Sept. 18). It was a foregone conclusion and quite the right action for Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to have taken.

Still, Dugan said nothing that was not being thought by many Air Force types, including myself. In fact I had written letters to newspapers advocating immediate air strikes upon Iraqi military, industrial and government control centers before the Iraqi dictator could put American and other “guests” in harm’s way to protect his vital installations with “human shields.”

Dugan’s cardinal sin was his mention that we would equip our B-52s with Israeli-built cruise missiles and that we were consulting Israeli intelligence with regard to operations against Iraq. We have gone to great lengths to isolate Israel from our confrontation with Iraq as there is nothing more sensitive and volatile in U.S.-Arab relations than our close relationship and seeming partiality toward Israel vis-a-vis the Arab world.

Except for Gen. Dugan’s rash statement about the use of Israeli weapons and intelligence, I think that most Air Force persons would support his position that air power could bring down Hussein.

If Dugan advocated in private six weeks ago what he did in public, I think that this crisis would be over, and he would be an American hero instead of a goat today.

EDWIN O. LEARNARD

San Diego