Gulf War Commander Schwarzkopf Dies at 78

Schwarzkopf died Thursday in the southern city of Tampa, Florida, where he lived in retirement.  There is no word yet on a cause of death.

A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as “Stormin’ Norman” because of his notoriously explosive temper.  In 1991, he led Operation Desert Storm, which liberated Kuwait from Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces.

Schwarzkopf lived in Tampa, where he served in his last military assignment as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command.  That is the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.

Schwarzkopf retired from active service in late 1991.  In the aftermath of the Gulf War, there was some speculation that he might run for political office, but he never did.

_{Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.}