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Ex-Joint Chiefs Chairman Shalikashvili Dead

He was first foreign-born person to hold the post

By the Associated Press

Posted Jul 23, 2011 4:40 PM CDT

(AP) – Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who counseled President Bill Clinton on the use of troops in Bosnia and other trouble spots, has died at age 75. The native of Poland held the top military job at the Pentagon in the Clinton administration from 1993 to 1997, when the general retired from the Army. He spent his later years living in Fort Lewis, Washington state.

Clinton pointed out that "Gen. Shali" made the recommendations that sent US troops into harm's way in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf, and a host of other world hotspots that had proliferated since the end of the Cold War. "He never minced words, he never postured or pulled punches, he never shied away from tough issues or tough calls, and most important, he never shied away from doing what he believed was the right thing," Clinton said.

In this 1996 file picture, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Shalikashvili talks with reporters in northern Bosnia. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

In this Aug. 11, 1993, photo, Army Gen. John Shalikashvili speaks in the Rose Garden with of President Bill Clinton and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Colin Powell. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)

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Ex-Joint Chiefs Chairman Shalikashvili Dead

He was first foreign-born person to hold the post

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