Word: colonel
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...majority of strikes consisted of what military men call battlefield interdiction -- direct attacks on Iraqi tanks, artillery, troops and supply lines. Often the targets are not even specified in advance; pilots simply fly around looking for whatever prey they can find, a practice they call trolling. Says Lieut. Colonel William Horne, commander of the Marine 224th Squadron at a base in the gulf area: "Before, I went after a bridge. Now I'm going after a category of targets, for instance, 'movers' ((like tanks and trucks)) down the road...
...Western Europe and the U.S. But Gorbachev, prodded by his right-wing critics, has decided to crack down to satisfy demands for stability. Order in the Soviet Union used to be guaranteed by the security apparatus; fear prevented the majority from stepping out of line. Now, says Interior Ministry Colonel Alexander Gurov, "respect for law has not replaced fear, so we have a vacuum of legitimate authority...
Demands for law and order have become a favorite rallying cry of the hard- liners. Declared an Interior Ministry colonel: "People are afraid to walk the streets. Something must be done." But reformers are skeptical. Russian leader Boris Yeltsin, who now stands at the head of the democratic opposition, called the moves "a serious step toward dictatorship." Reformers argued that bringing troops into the streets has involved the military in areas beyond its competence. Said the independent weekly Moscow News: "The army must not be used as a muzzle on the people...
Mistrust of the security forces runs high -- with good reason. According to Colonel Victor Alksnis, a spokesman for disenchanted reactionaries, the pro- Communist National Salvation Committee in Lithuania was prepared to seize power and expected Gorbachev to pave the way by imposing presidential rule. But Gorbachev did not act, leading Alksnis to conclude that "the President betrayed...
...colonel put Gorbachev on notice that if he did not intend to use his powers more decisively he would face a mutiny within the army. At the same time, Gorbachev's hesitation to impose presidential rule in the Baltics or give his unequivocal support to military actions has not won him applause from reformers either. If the Kremlin has a strategy nowadays, it seems to be to get tough -- then back down. But with the growing polarization between radicals and reactionaries, no one seems prepared to accept uncertainty anymore...