-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: June 8, 2007 6:43:40 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Faith-Based Military Strategery: Demander-in-Chief Purges
Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Pace wrote the judge in the "Scooter" Libby trial, asking
for leniency
-- an etraordinarily PARTISAN political act for a military official
during wartime
Top military chiefs being replaced:
Citing war and Congress, Gates to change Joint Chiefs chairman AND
vice chairman
The Associated Press, June 8, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19112660/
WASHINGTON - Bitter divisions over the Iraq war, particularly on
Capitol Hill, led the Bush administration to change course and
replace Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a
grim Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
Gates said that despite earlier plans to recommend Pace for a
second two-year term as chairman, he instead was recommending Adm.
Mike Mullen, currently chief of naval operations, to take over when
Pace’s term expires Sept. 30.
“I think that the events of the last several months have simply
created an environment in which I think there would be a
confirmation process that would not be in the best interests of the
country,” Gates said. “I wish it were not necessary to make a
decision like this. But I think it’s a realistic appraisal of where
we are.”
Gates said he had been told by Republican and Democratic senators
that a confirmation hearing for Pace would be a “backward-looking
and very contentious process.”
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., acknowledged such advice, saying he had
gathered views from a broad range of senators. “I found that the
views of many senators reflected my own,” and confirmation would
have focused on the past four years of war, he said.
A spokesman for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said she, too,
believed it would have been a difficult renomination.
“When it comes to Iraq it’s not enough for President Bush to change
the cast, he must also change their script,” said the spokesman,
Philippe Reines.
Mullen has long been eyed for a promotion, and on Friday Gates
praised him as having the “vision, strategic insight and integrity
to lead America’s armed forces.”
Some surprise at Pentagon
The announcement still seemed to surprise some senior Pentagon
officials who as recently as last week were convinced there would
be a second term for Pace, the first Marine to serve as chairman of
the Joint Chiefs.
Pace’s departure will put nearly an entirely new slate of leaders
and military commanders in charge of the war, which is now in its
fifth year and has claimed the lives of more than 3,500 U.S. troops.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld abruptly resigned a day after
last year’s elections, which were consumed with debate on the war
and swept Democrats into control of Congress.
Since then, the Democrats have shown an eagerness to challenge
President Bush’s handling of the conflict and support among
Republicans has waned as well
Democrats have used recent military confirmation hearings,
including one earlier this week, to blast the administration’s
handling of the war.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Gates “informed the
president a little over two weeks ago that consultations had not
gone well (with senators) and it was his recommendation that we not
go forward with the renomination of General Pace.”
Gates called National Security Council Adviser Steve Hadley in
Heiligendamm, Germany, Thursday night, to talk about the timing of
the announcement, and on Friday Hadley informed Bush that they were
going forward. “The president had already concurred” based on the
earlier talks with Gates, said Johndroe, who was traveling overseas
with Bush.
Gates made it clear his decision came reluctantly.
“I am no stranger to contentious confirmations, and I do not shrink
from them,” Gates said. “However, I have decided that at this
moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform and
General Pace himself would not be well served by a divisive ordeal.”
Asked whether the developments indicated GOP support for the war
was waning, Gates said, “No, I don’t think it says that.”
As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for two years, and vice
chairman for the previous four, Pace has been involved in all of
the key decisions leading to the 2002 invasion of Iraq and the
planning for the post-Saddam Hussein era.
Johndroe said, “He is an example for all our men and women in
uniform and has been an integral part of the president’s national
security team.”
Mullen was in Annapolis at the Naval Academy Friday when the
announcement was made. His spokesman, Cmdr. John Kirby, issued a
statement saying Mullen was honored.
Gates said Mullen “has a broad view of what the needs and
requirements of the services are.” To illustrate that, Gates said
that when Mullen was recently asked by senior Pentagon adviser what
he was most concerned about, he replied, “The Army.”
The Army has been strained to the breaking point by soldiers’
lengthy, repeated and difficult tours in the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars.
Gates also heaped praise on Pace, who recently celebrated his 40th
year as a Marine. “He has served our country with great distinction
and deserves the deepest thanks of the American people for a
lifetime of service to our country and for his leadership. I have
thoroughly enjoyed working with him, trust him completely and value
his candor and his willingness to speak his mind,” he said.
Vice chairman being replaced, too
Gates said he would recommend Gen. James E. Cartwright, currently
the commander of the Strategic Command, to be vice chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. He would succeed Adm. Ed Giambastiani, who
is retiring.
The defense secretary said he had originally intended to name
Giambastiani to a second two-year term, but Mullen’s selection had
foreclosed that possibility. It is customary for the chairman and
vice chairman to come from different branches of the service.
Other members of Congress were largely mum about the discussions
with Gates prior to the announcement, preferring to offer praise
for both Pace and Mullen.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said Pace had served with “the greatest of
distinction.” He added, “As we look to the future, in Admiral
Mullen, we will have a new hand on the helm, a steady, well-trained
hand that will guide and protect the men and women of all of our
services, and their families.”
NBC News' Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski said that critics
were calling Gates' announcement phase two of the administration's
attempt to clean house at the Pentagon after Donald Rumsfeld was
forced to resign as defense secretary last November.
Some Pentagon and military officials have quietly criticized Pace
for not standing up to Rumsfeld and being what they considered
blindly supportive of the former secretary, Miklaszewski reported.
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