Word: haig
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...Haig has all the pluses and minuses of what is called a "political general," a man equally at home in the military and in politics. Brought up on Philadelphia's Main Line and fatherless since ten, Haig...
Viet Nam and was decorated for heroism, he made his biggest mark at various war colleges and in staff jobs where he showed a knack for handling people and grappling with the fine points of geopolitics. Kissinger then Nixon's National Security Adviser, chose Haig for his staff and came to value him as his most trusted aide. Critics say Haig became much too loyal when, on Kissinger's orders, he requested the FBI to put taps on the phones of 14 Government officials and three reporters, to try to discover how secret information was leaking...
Nixon later told Watergate investigators: "I authorized the entire program." For his services, Haig was jumped over 250 senior officers to become a four-star general...
After Nixon was forced to fire his top White House aides, he turned to Haig for the loyalty and competence he needed at a time when he was practically immobilized by Watergate. As White House Chief of Staff, Haig presided over the sinking Government with considerable grace and good humor and, though a military man, he was much less authoritarian than his predecessors. While many Democrats resented his role in trying to preserve Nixon's presidency, Leon Jaworski, then special prosecutor, now completely exonerates him of any wrongdoing. Haig helped maintain staff morale and ensure that essential business...
Ford appointed him NATO commander, an ideal post for displaying his political, diplomatic and military talents. Haig was initially greeted with skepticism. "When I went to the White House," he told European audiences, "the critics said: 'My God, that man is much too military for such a political job.' When I came to NATO, they said I'm too political for such a military job." As it turned out, he was superbly right for the job, as the men and women under his command and virtually all European leaders now acknowledge. Demonstrating a quick mind, a prodigious...