Word: norming
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...Norm Schwarzkopf, under pressure, was an active volcano. I occasionally found myself in transoceanic shouting matches with him that were full of barracks profanity. The cussing meant nothing; blowing up acted as a safety valve for his frustrations. Cheney occasionally required my reassurance that we had the right man in Riyadh; at one point, he said, "This is for all the marbles, you know. The presidency is riding on this one. Are you absolutely confident about Schwarzkopf?" I told him that my faith in Norm was total...
...Norm called saying he had talked to his commanders and needed still another delay to start the ground war, to the 26th. He had the latest weather report in hand, he said, and bad weather was predicted for the 24th and 25th, maybe clearing on the 26th. Bad weather equaled reduced air support, which equaled higher casualties. I was on the spot. So far, Cheney had accepted my counsel. But now I did not feel that Norm was giving me sufficiently convincing arguments to take back to Cheney and the President. What should I expect next, a postponement...
...Look," I told Norm, "10 days ago you told me the 21st. Then you wanted the 24th. Now you're asking for the 26th. I've got a President and a Secretary of Defense on my back. You've got to give me a better case for postponement. I don't think you understand the pressure I'm under...
That did it. I had backed Norm at every step, fended off his critics with one hand while soothing his anxieties with the other. "Don't you pull that on me!" I yelled back. "Don't you try to lay a patronizing guilt trip on me! Don't tell me I don't care about casualties! What are you doing, putting on some kind of show in front of your commanders...
Within half an hour, Norm was back on the phone with the latest weather update. The 24th and the 25th did not look too bad after all. "We're ready," he said. We had a go for the 24th...