WILLIAM R. LOONEY III
This quotation illustrated the extreme right wing viewpoint of some military leaders, even when the policy was only to enforce a “no fly zone” that had been agreed to by Iraq and the coalition forces. While Looney’s wing would use military force to take Middle East oil, that policy was completely contrary to the Clinton Democratic administration’s position at the time and the Bush Republican administration’s position that followed.
He was one of the last generation of military officers who did not have the education, training, and political sophistication to avoid picking one of the several factors for going to war, and making it seem that that was the most important or only one. Oil is always a factor in the Middle East, but there were other major causes for our going to war.
General William R. Looney III, USAF was the 28th Commander, Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. As commander, he was responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force personnel. His command included the Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered air forces and Air University. Air Education and Training Command consists of 13 bases, more than 66,000 active-duty members and 15,000 civilians. General Looney was succeeded by General Stephen R. Lorenz on July 2, 2008, and retired from the Air Force on August 1, 2008. Since his retirement from the Air Force, Looney has taken a position as a board member at Trident University International.
