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RobertWeiner

Published Letters: 1

Monday, December 1, 2008 08:12 AM

Here are the facts:

General McCaffrey has been absolutely committed to objective, non-partisan public commentary on national security issues since "911". He is proud of his association with NBC. His on-air commentary is based solely on his personal convictions and experience.

Check Google for the association of Rumsfeld and McCaffrey. You will find 14,000 hits nearly all hostile to the arrogance and mismanagement of the Rumsfeld War on Terror. Hardly the stuff of someone "shilling" for the Pentagon. Hardly the actions of someone trying to ingratiate himself with DOD contracting authorities on behalf of his business interests. General McCaffrey is not a lobbyist. His focus in business is on understanding and explaining the national policy environment. When he sees a concept that would support military interests - he does, of course, recommend it to national defense leaders. General McCaffrey is an expert on national security.

He is not a reporter. He is an American war hero from Vietnam (where he was wounded in combat three times) - and the first war with Iraq during Desert Storm. Both his son and daughter served as Army officers.

He routinely is invited to testify to Congress on national security issues. He interacts with the intelligence community, foreign governments, academia, the defense industry, and all elements of the US Armed Forces. He is widely respected as a public commentator of great integrity and balanced views. Mr. Barstow has tried to create a false picture.

The real General McCaffrey is explained by his 37 years of public service to include four combat tours - which he continues now as a businessman, academic lecturer and writer, and media national security expert.

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