Lynn C. Woolsey: “I rise to pay tribute to Lieutenant General William E. Odom, a great American and a true patriot. General Odom passed…”

“I rise to pay tribute to Lieutenant General William E. Odom, a great American and a true patriot. General Odom passed away last Friday at the age of 75 after a lifetime of service to the Nation. General Odom was a soldier and a scholar. He was a teacher and the author of seven books on history and international relations. He served Presidents of both parties. He was one of our Nation's top experts on military intelligence. He was a great visionary. And he was among the first to correctly and courageously warn that invading Iraq would be folly. I am proud to say that he was a friend. He generously shared his insight and counsel with me, and I found what he told and shared to be invaluable. General Odom was born in Tennessee and graduated from West Point. He received a Ph.D. from Columbia University and became a leading author on the Soviet Union. After teaching at West Point and Columbia, he served in the Carter administration as assistant to the President for national security affairs. Neither a Democrat nor a Republican, he also served in the Reagan administration as director of the National Security Agency. After retiring from the military, he became a professor at Yale University and a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute. General Odom was a patriot in every sense of the word. He served in Vietnam, and his family has continued to serve. His son was wounded in Iraq.”