Al Haig - Prevented WW3

Alexander Haig - Unsung Hero

General Al Haig died 12 years ago, in 2010, but his legacy remains.

He took action on March 30, 1981 and ended World War III -- before it started.  

That was the day that President Reagan addressed the AFL-CIO at the Washington Hilton hotel, where he was shot upon exiting the hotel by alleged assassin, John Hinkley.  

Shots Fired; POTUS Targeted

While President Reagan was rushed to the hospital, the news and video of the assassination attempt flashed around the world, 

and 

stopped at the Kremlin.  

Within minutes of the news, the Soviet military had decided that the US was leaderless, since Vice President Bush was in flight, hours away from Washington, and the succession process would be time consuming and a bureaucratic imbroglio.   

Given that situation, President Brezhnev and the Soviet military leadership decided this was an exploitable moment.  They knew the US military was in a chaotic state following Jimmy Carter’s slash and burn policies, and they firmly believed they could over-run NATO if the Washington leadership was in turmoil.  

The Commander of NATO at that moment was General Bernie Rogers, a pleasant political general without the forceful personality of Haig, whom the Soviets felt comfortable they could intimidate. 

 Soviet Military's Massive Armor Capability

As soon as Reagan was in the ambulance and headed for surgery, the Soviet Warsaw Pact mobilized: 

1) All ground and air forces, 

plus

2) Strategic Rocket Forces, 

and last but not least, t

3) The Soviet Navy alerted the USSR nuclear submarines to 

take up attack positions off the US coasts.

Pre-positioned Attack Submarines

Soviet Command Train

Most notable was the activation of the wartime  

Soviet Command Train 

[their mobile command center] 

which was activated 

only during times of military crisis – and aggressive action,

When the Soviet Command train started rolling, intelligence analysts around the world took note and the world’s military establishment immediately went on the highest alert status

At the Pentagon, the National Military Command Center [NMCC], responding to the Soviet actions, immediately went to its highest level of alert, activating NATO forces as well as the Strategic Air Command.  

Haig, having served as NATO Commander under Jimmy Carter, was the assassination target, multiple times, of Soviet Spetznaz operatives.

Haig was Reagan’s Secretary of State and probably the most informed man in Washington when it came to the Soviet military threat;

the Soviets also feared Haig more than any US general and were convinced he would annihilate the Soviet Union if given the opportunity.  

Weinberger

[This theory was bolstered by Haig's comment following the final attempt on his life that he would welcome the opportunity to unleash a nuclear missile barrage on the USSR and end that threat.]  

At the time Reagan was shot, Haig was at the White House                     Situation Room, along with Secretary of Defense Weinberger and National Security Advisor Richard Allen, neither of whom grasped the gravity of the situation with regard to Soviet intentions, and both of whom would attack Haig’s actions later. 

Richard Allen, National Security Advisor

Haig recognized all the indicators that the Soviets were in the process of launching World War III, while neither Weinberger   (a professional politician) nor Allen (an academic popinjay) recognized the threat.

Haig watched, in horror, a live television monitor as Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speaks fumbled in the Press Room, in answer to Leslie Stahl’s question of 

 'who is running the government in the absence of President Reagan?', 

Speaks’ responded that 

“I cannot answer that question at this time” 

-- a clear signal to the Soviets that the US government was then very vulnerable and incapable of responding to a Soviet attack!

Haig sent a note in to Speaks telling him to step away from the dais and to stop answering questions.  Haig then stormed into the Press Room and announced he would answer the question, and stated:

"Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State, in that order, and should the President decide he wants to transfer the helm to the Vice President, he will do so. 

"As of now, I am in control here"

“But, As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending the return of the Vice President and I am in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course."

The immediate result of Haig’s appearance in the White House Press Room, announcing on international television that he was “in control” had the desired effect. 

The last thing the Soviets expected was to see General Haig as the acting head of the US government, with his finger on the nuclear trigger and ready to exercise this opportunity to even the score with the Soviets for their multiple failed assassination attempts on him in Europe.  

Although Haig knew full well what the legal Presidential succession process was, the Soviets were unsure, or if they did know, they assumed Haig had assumed control via a coup.  

Whatever the case, all they knew was that Al Haig appeared to now be running the US, and he was the last guy in the world they wanted in that position.

Brezhnev and his generals immediately recognized that a 

face-off with Haig would surely bring about the destruction 

of the Soviet Union, and they ordered the immediate stand-down of the Soviet/Warsaw Pact military forces.  

Both the Soviet Union and the US sheathed their swords, and calm settled in – as Brezhnev wiped his brow, cursing his generals for their bad advice; and Haig prepared his report for President Reagan.

Soviet Premier Brezhnev

The US Media and the Deep State  "Intellectual Left" immediately seized on only one part of Haig's statement, 

i.e, “I am in control here” and began the debate of legal Presidential succession, and attacked Haig as a “power-hungry warmonger.”   

What they failed to recognize -- or ever acknowledge, was that 

Haig had averted World War III; 

they now had a new target to ridicule, and of course, Weinberger and Allen were only too happy to add fuel to the fire to diminish Haig’s relationship with Reagan and Bush and increase their own political base.  

In Washington, it matters not who is right, but who has the friendship and support of the Media.

 

[But wait, there's MORE!]

--- 

But, here's some personal Spookdblog background, after the fact.

Disclaimer: 

I worked for Al Haig [and later George Schultz] at the State Department when he was Secretary of State; I transitioned from editing the Black Book at the Pentagon to my new assignment as the Director of Central Intelligence "Exceptional Intelligence Analyst" at State Department INR [Intelligence & Research]; my role there was assessing political stability in developing nations as potential crisis areas.  We chatted many years later at DIA when he visited for a ceremony honoring Vernon Walters - who was his Right-Hand man at State as Ambassador at Large 

[Reagan trusted both implicitly - but not Weinberger]

-----

Ten years later, after I retired from the Military, I interviewed with Forbes Editor Laury Minard for the position of International Editor at Forbes Magazine as the the MidEast War was looming; being a professional Spook, I noted Minard was furtively reading incoming  electronic questions in his lap from someone else 

[i.e., the new Forbes publisher was Casper Weinberger] 

as Minard asked for my assessment on Iraq's Military threat.

I advised Minard [and thus Weinberger] that Iraq's Army, consisted of only 100,000 trained soldiers [plus several million untrained, and unarmed troops "on the books"], and that, should we go to war, we would defeat them in less than two weeks.

[I further advised that, in the training exercises [CPX] which my MI unit presented to Forces Command Army units (1975-78), that we used Iraq as the hypothetical enemy - using up-to-date, classified tactical intelligence assuming we might, at some time in the future, have a future war in the Middle East.  Thus, our Military combat units were extremely fluent in all issues about Iraq's readiness.  

Rick Francona

I also noted that on my Military team at the Defense Clandestine Service was LTC Rick Francona, perhaps the single most knowledgeable Intelligence officer on Iraq in the Military. Of equal capacity was my long-time friend, Colonel Charlie Snyder [Chief of MENA at State, and later Director at CIA's MENA (Middle East - North Africa].

[Rick became General Schwartzcopf's Intelligence advisor and Arabic Interpreter during the Gulf War.  

As it turned out, it took only 10 days to defeat Iraq, eliciting a positive comment from Minard. Although Laury and I got along well, and he assured me I was a shoo-in, mysteriously, I was not offered the job.

[I later learned that Minard had battled with Forbe's new Publisher, Casper Weinberger to publish my comments and argued (unsuccessfully) to bring me aboard; Minard was later "promoted" to the position of Editor [and founder] of Forbes Global in London, removing him from the NYC based Forbes magazine and away from [my] assessments on US national security.]  

An independent spirit at heart and in superb physical condition, Minard suffered "heart stoppage" , and"Died Suddenly! (although he had passed his physical exam only 3 days before, with flying colors while climbing Mt Ranier in 2001.

His daughter, Julia, who was with him when he died and oddly, fearing for her life, subsequently went into hiding since she asked too many questions about Laury's "heart stoppage"; oddly, she was strangled to death in Belize, near the GT border. 

 [Julia had rightly feared for her life after declaring that she thought her father was murdered.]

So, how does this all tie together?

Weinberger was unhappy with me since, as an early USSR analyst for the Black Book in 1981, I had authored an analysis of Haig's actions in his "I am in charge here" statement at the impromptu Press Brief when Reagan was shot.

My analysis, presented in the Black Book at the Pentagon, showed the USSR went to a war-time position, moving its offensive troops to the border; Haig [former European Commander] staged his Press conference after monitoring Soviet movements 

[GRU tried to kill him three times and he vowed he'd nuke them if they misbehaved again]; 

when Haig made his announcement, the USSR immediately pulled all their forces back from the border since they assumed, that with Haig in charge, he'd actually nuke them.

The Deep State Cabal then used the Liberal Media [and the State Department Intellectuals] to pillory Haig for his "stupid" statement - but, they always omitted the Soviet response; until my article in the Black Book, much of the Pentagon hierarchy believed the Press [and Weinberger's condemnation of Haig as an out-of-control war-monger].. 

In the end, their discrediting of him forced Haig's departure from Reagan's Administration and weakened Reagan's assessment of international events.  Had Haig remained, he would have terminated the Iran-Contra scandal long before it gained legs.  

[VP Bush played a major role in creating this planned war in Central America based on his proclamation of expertise as former Director of Central Intelligence.]

[The consensus of a number of insiders was that Weinberger and Carlucci plotted with Bush to assassinate Reagan; Bush was anxious for the US to be engaged in another war (wartime Presidents are generally popular and granted extraordinary dictatorial powers) - and almost immediately after Bush took office as POTUS, he ordered the invasion of Panama!].

Some interesting coincidences:

Secretary of Defense Weinberger had ordered for the day of Hinkley's shooting:

1) A NORAD [North American Air Defense] exercise, with simulated incoming missile attacks

2) A FEMA exercise [Nine Lives] on Presidential Succession 

The Secret Service 

1) Violated standard security procedures by forcing the President to walk, albeit briefly, to his limo, though a group of by-standers [including Hinkley]

2) The explosive bullet [available only through Military channels] which penetrated Reagan's chest was fired at close range, into the opening below his arm [the attending surgeon noted the bullet could have detonated, killing Reagan immediately; he also noted powder burns on Reagan's armpit) The Special Agent in Charge {SAIC] insisted that 

  

    a)  Reagan be returned to the White House to be examined by the White House physician

    b) The driver insisted that Reagan go to a nearby hospital

    c) The SAIC reluctantly agreed, but insisted Reagan be taken to Presbyterian Hospital 

        - a 25 minute drive.  The time lapse to Presbyterian Hospital would have ensured

         Reagan's death    

    d) The driver refused and contacted GWU Hospital, only a few blocks away (9 minutes), 

        where the surgeons were immediately responsive; 

    e) The handgun which Hinkley reportedly used did not have his fingerprints on it.

    

Agent McCarthy spots shooter and covers Reagan

f)  One SS agent circled around and fired from    behind the crowd, shooting a 

       (1) Police Officer (Tom Delahanty)

           [from behind],

      (2) James Brady, and, 

      (3) the Secret Service Agent 

          (Tim McCarthy who saw where

          the shots were coming from 

            (not Hinkley)

          and stepped in front of Reagan, 

          taking a   bullet (which did not                       explode) in the abdomen].

g) A man, in a red/orange raincoat (possibly a Motorcycle Cop), grabbed the shooter [SS agent with a grey sport coat], twisted his wrist, forcing the agent to the ground, 

where his pistol (a revolver) fell to the sidewalk 

(that pistol was claimed to be Hinkley's).

     [The bullet that hit Brady, exploded 

      inside his skull.]

Cop grabs SS Agents wrist, 
forcing him to drop his pistol
(aimed at Reagan)

[As facts began to emerge about the assassination attempt, it became evident that Hinkley was NOT the assassin, but rather

 (like Oswald the Fall Guy in Dallas [and there were multiple shooters in Dallas)  - two of whom were Secret Service agents;

In the attempt on Reagan, the one agent (a shooter) was grabbed by an unidentified motorcycle cop). 

There was never a follow-up to determine the identity of the man in the orange rain-coat, and apparently, he was never debriefed.]  

It turns out the Hinkley family was a friend of both the Bush family, 

and Weinberger.

According to the Houston Post, Hinkley's brother was to have been the dinner guest at GHW Bush's son, Neil Bush, who admitted to being a close friend of the Hinkley family - a long time and major contributors to GHW Bush's campaigns.

The presumption was that Hinkley, an outpatient from a DC mental hospital, would be written off as mentally challenged [had Reagan died] and returned to the hospital [which was the disposition of his case].

Haig suspected a Cabinet level [DS] Conspiracy.

When Haig was asked about the possibility of a conspiracy involving Bush, he responded:

"We have no indication of anything like that NOW, and we are not going to say a word on that subject until the situation clarifies itself."

---

[Ed Note:  Although I was unaware of it at the time, in retrospect, I determined this was my developing challenge with the Deep State, which included much of Reagan's Cabinet.  The goal of the Deep State was to displace Reagan and install George HW Bush.] 

 [The goal of Bush, I later would learn, was to neutralize me as the "guy who knew too much" - but that's another chapter in my book.]