Alexander Haig

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Alexander Haig
59th United States Secretary of State
In office January 22, 1981 – July 5, 1982
Preceded by	Edmund Muskie
Succeeded by	George Shultz
5th White House Chief of Staff
In office 1973 – 1974
Preceded by	H.R. Haldeman
Succeeded by	Donald Rumsfeld
Born	December 2, 1924 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican

For other persons named Alexander Haig, see Alexander Haig (disambiguation).

Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. (born December 2, 1924) was the U.S. Secretary of State from 1981 to 1982 under Ronald Reagan, and is a former Four-Star General in the U.S. Army. He was appointed Military Assistant to the Presidential Assistant for National Security Affairs, Henry Kissinger, in 1969, a position he retained until 1970, when President Richard Nixon promoted him to Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1973, Haig was appointed White House Chief of Staff where he remained until President Nixon's resignation in August 1974. From 1974 until 1979, Haig was Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), hence the ex officio commander of the NATO forces.

[edit] Education

Haig attended Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania and the University of Notre Dame for one year before transferring to and graduating from West Point in 1947. He studied business administration at Columbia Business School in 1954 and 1955. He also received a Masters degree in International Relations from Georgetown University in 1961 where his thesis focused on the role of the military officer in the making of national policy.

[edit] Korea, MacArthur and Vietnam

As a young officer, Haig served on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur in Japan. In the early days of the Korean War, Haig was responsible for maintaining General MacArthur's situation map and briefing MacArthur each evening on the day's battlefield events.[1]. Haig has stated that he was in the room when MacArthur famously stated to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "Gentlemen, we will land at Inchon on September 15 or you will have a new Supreme Commander in East Asia."[2] Haig later saw combat in the Korean War (1950-51) with the X Corps, led by MacArthur's Chief of Staff, General Edward Almond.[3]. During the Korean War, Haig earned 2 Silver Stars for heroism and a Bronze Star with "V."[4] Haig participated in seven Korean War campaigns, including the Battle of Inchon, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir (a.k.a "The Frozen Chosen"), and the evacuation of Hungnam.[5]

Haig later served as a staff officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (DCSOPS) at the Pentagon (1962-64), and then was appointed Military Assistant to Secretary of the Army Stephen Ailes in 1964. Haig was then was appointed Military Assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. He continued in that service until the end of 1965, whereupon he took command of a Battalion of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam.

During the battle of Ap Gu in March 1967, then Lt. Colonel Haig's troops (of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry) became pinned down by heavy gunfire behind enemy lines near the Cambodian border. In an attempt to extract his troops, Haig boarded a helicopter and flew to the point of contact.[6]. His helicopter was subsequently shot down and Haig drew heavy enemy fire as he exited the aircraft. As a result of his actions during the battle of Ap Gu, Haig was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's 2nd highest medal for heroism, as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross.[7] During the Vietnam War, Haig also received the Purple Heart when he was injured by shrapnel from a grenade.[8] During his tour in Vietnam, he moved up to take command of one of the Brigades of the 1st Infantry Division.

[edit] Henry Kissinger's military assistant, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army

Alexander Haig returned to the Continental United States at the end of his one-year tour to take command of the Cadet Regiment at the USMA, and Deputy Commandant as well. He retained these dual positions until 1969, when he was appointed as Military Assistant to the Presidential Assistant for National Security Affairs, Henry Kissinger, a position he retained until 1970, when President Richard Nixon promoted Haig to Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In this position, Haig helped South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu to negotiate the final cease-fire talks in 1972. Haig continued in this position until 1973 when he was appointed to be Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, a post he held until the last few months of President Nixon’s presidency, when he served as White House Chief of Staff.

[edit] White House Chief of Staff for Nixon and Ford

Alexander Haig served as White House Chief of Staff during height of the Watergate affair from May 1973 until September 1974. During this time, Haig played a large "crisis management" role as the Watergate scandal unfolded. Haig has been largely credited with keeping the government running while President Nixon was preoccupied with Watergate.[9]. Haig also played an instrumental role in finally persuading Nixon to resign. In his 2001 book, "Shadow", author Bob Woodward describes Haig's role as the point man between Nixon and then Vice President Gerald Ford during the final days of Watergate. According to the book, Haig played a major behind the scenes role in the delicate negotiations of the transfer of power from President Nixon to President Ford. Haig remained White House Chief of Staff during the early days of the Ford Administration until he was replaced by Donald Rumsfeld in September 1974.

[edit] Deep Throat

For many years, people speculated that Haig was Deep Throat, the anonymous source for Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Authors Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin speculated in their 1991 book Silent Coup: The Removal of a President that Haig may have been "Deep Throat," noting Woodward and Haig knew each other when Woodward worked in naval intelligence. But, in 2005, it was revealed in that W. Mark Felt, the associate director of the FBI, was Woodward and Bernstein's source. Furthermore, Haig was known to have been out of the country during some of the meetings between "Deep Throat" and the reporters.

[edit] Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and assassination attempt

From 1974 to 1979, Haig served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), and Commander in Chief, US European Command (CinCUSEUR), and thus was effectively the Commander of NATO Forces. An assassination attempt on Haig was unsuccessful in Mons, Belgium on June 25, 1979. During the attack, a land mine blew up under the bridge on which Haig's car was travelling, narrowly missing Haig's car but wounding three of his bodyguards in a following car.[10] The attack was later deemed to be carried out by the Baader-Meinhof terrorist organization. In 1993, a German Court sentenced Rolf Klemens Wagner, a former Red Army Terrorist, to a life sentence for the assassination attempt on Haig.[11] While Haig was at NATO, Wesley Clark (then a Major) served as Haig's speechwriter.[12]. Alexander Haig retired from the Army in 1979, and moved on to civilian employment.

[edit] Secretary of State for President Reagan

In 1979, he became President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Director of United Technologies, Inc., a job he retained until 1981.

In January 1981, Haig was tapped by Reagan to be Secretary of State and he began contentious confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Much of the hearing focused on Haig's role during Watergate. Haig was eventually confirmed by a Senate vote of 93-6.[13] Robert White, ambassador in El Salvador from 1980 to 81, has claimed that Alexander Haig pushed for his removal because he did not favor a military solution for the El Salvadoran situation. Michael Ledeen, now an international adviser for Karl Rove, George W. Bush's closest advisor, was his "anti-terrorism" expert during this period; before that, Ledeen had worked as analyst for the Italian military intelligence agencies.

Haig resigned in July 1982. It was said that Reagan asked for his resignation over his refusal to negotiate Nuclear Weapons with the USSR. It was also said that Nancy Reagan did not like him. A military hawk, Haig caused some alarm with his suggestion that a "nuclear warning shot" in Europe might be effective in deterring the Soviet Union. His tenure as Secretary of State was often characterized by his clashes with the more moderate Defense Secretary, Caspar Weinberger.

[edit] "I'm in control here"

In 1981, after the March 30 assassination attempt on Reagan, Haig asserted before reporters that "I'm in control here" as a result of Reagan's hospitalization. The quotation became seen as an attempt by Haig to exceed his authority. The full quotation is:

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 for now, I'm in control here, in the White House, pending the return of the vice president and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course.

Haig is usually perceived as incorrect in his interpretation of the United States Constitution as far as both the presidential line of succession is concerned and in regard to the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution which deals with what happens when a president is incapacitated. However, as the holders of the two offices between the Vice President and the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the House and the President pro tem of the Senate, are required under U.S. law (3 U.S.C. 19) to resign their positions in order to become acting President, an unlikely event considering that Vice President Bush was merely not immediately available, his statement certainly reflected political reality, if not necessarily legal reality. However, audio tapes made that day in the White House by National Security Advisor Richard Allen, and released in 2001, suggest that Haig was indeed under the erroneous impression that the U.S. Constitution placed him after the Vice President of the United States in the Presidential Line of Succession.

Haig later said:

"I wasn’t talking about transition. I was talking about the executive branch, who is running the government. That was the question asked. It was not, 'who is in line should the President die?'" [14]

Chief of Staff Haig (far right), Sec. of State Kissinger, Rep. Ford and President Nixon meet on October 13, 1973 regarding Ford's upcoming appointment to Vice-President.

[edit] 1982 Falklands War

The Falklands War (March-June 1982) occurred during Haig's tenure as Secretary of State and saw Haig attempt to conduct shuttle diplomacy in April 1982 following the Argentine invasion, but prior to the arrival of the British fleet in the war zone. Haig met with both the British government in London and the Argentine government in Buenos Aires, but talks broke down and Haig returned to Washington on April 19.

[edit] 1982 Lebanon Invasion by Israel

Haig critics have accused him of "greenlighting" the Israel Invasion of Lebanon in June of 1982. Haig denies this and said he urged restraint at the time.[15]

[edit] Unsuccessful bid for 1988 Republican presidential nomination

Haig unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Party nomination for President in 1988. He was a fierce critic of George H.W. Bush, and speculation was that he sought the Presidency in part because of that. When he withdrew from the race, he threw his support to the presidential campaign of Senator Robert Dole of Kansas. Said Haig to Dole of George Bush at the time, "I've done all the damage I can, Bob."

[edit] Military decorations

• Distinguished Service Cross
• Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster
• Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster
• Bronze Star with "V"
• Combat Infantryman Badge
• Purple Heart
• Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

[edit] Current activities

Haig was the host for several years of the television program World Business Review and now hosts 21st Century Business, each program a weekly business education forum that includes business solutions, expert interview, commentary and field reports.

Haig is co-chairman of the American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus, along with Zbigniew Brzezinski and Stephen J. Solarz.

Haig was a founding Board Member of America Online

On January 5, 2006, Haig participated in a meeting at the White House of former Secretaries of Defense and State to discuss United States foreign policy with Bush administration officials.

On May 12, 2006, Haig participated in a second White House meeting with 10 former Secretaries of State and Defense. The meeting including briefings by Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice, and was followed by a discussion with President George W. Bush.[16]

Haig published his memoirs, entitled Inner Circles: How America Changed The World, in 1992.

Alexander Haig is the father of author Brian Haig.

He is a Knight of Malta.

[edit] Views on Iraq

In a recent (October 22, 2006) CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer , General Haig and others were engaged in a discussion about Iraq. Haig stated: "I think that this is a conflict that's essentially political. It's not just purely military. It's political and religious and ideological. And it was driven by the so-called neocons that hijacked my party, the Republican Party, before this administration...I'm talking about Wolfowitz. I'm talking about Richard Perle. I'm talking about some newly-made ones. I'm talking about the former editor of the Wall Street Journal. These people are very, very deeply embedded in Yale and certain intellectual circles. And for years, they've been against NATO...There were a lot of influences on the president, but he's the president, and he's responsible." [17]

[edit] Trivia

• Haig was a fervent anti-communist and reportedly in a conversation about Cuba, Haig reportedly remarked to President Reagan "You just give me the word and I'll turn that f**king island into a parking lot." [18]

• Richard Dreyfuss played him in the movie The Day Reagan was Shot. He was also portrayed in the CBS/Showtime miniseries The Reagans. "M*A*S*H" actor David Ogden Stiers played Haig in a television movie version of "The Final Days," Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's account of the last days of the Nixon presidency. Powers Boothe played Haig in Oliver Stone's 1995 film Nixon.

• Haig, George C. Marshall and Colin L. Powell are the only Army Generals to have ever served as Secretary of State.

• Haig was referenced in the 1983 song "The Fletcher Memorial Home" by the band Pink Floyd.

• Referenced in the movie Heavyweights.

• After Maine schoolgirl Samantha Smith wrote to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov in 1983, Johnny Carson played President Ronald Reagan in a sketch on NBC's "The Tonight Show," in which a Russian girl writes the President. The Russian girl's letter asks for the name of the monkey Reagan used to appear with. Carson, as Reagan, replies, "Alexander Haig."

• Haig was briefly mentioned in the song "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now" by the Dead Kennedys in reference to serving under ex-president Ronald Reagan.

• Haig is referenced in a 1995 episode of The Simpsons television show. In the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" episode, Homer Simpson appears in a mugshot photo while wearing a Haig 88' sweatshirt. [19]

• In the Police Squad! episode "Testimony of Evil," Drebin and Hocken find the contents of a morgue repulsive. The camera then reveals that they are looking at a photograph of Haig.

• Haig's brother, the Rev. Frank R. Haig, S.J., is a Jesuit priest who teaches physics at Loyola College in Maryland.

• In 1980, Spiro Agnew published a memoir in which he implied that, in 1973, Richard Nixon and Haig had planned to assassinate him if Agnew refused to resign the Vice-Presidency, and that Haig told him "to go quietly … or else.^[1]"

[edit] Endnotes

1. ^ Agnew, Spiro T:: "Go quietly ... or else". Morrow, 1980. ISBN 0-688-03668-6.

[edit] External links

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Alexander Haig

• The Day Reagan was Shot article on Haig
• The Falklands: Failure of a Mission critique of Haig's mediation efforts

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