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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Pentagon shake-up expected from Gates In nominating Robert Gates as defense secretary, President George W. Bush is trying to transform the debate over Iraq by putting the Defense Department in the hands of a man who has been sharply critical of the Pentagon leadership, senior administration officials said Thursday. Gates has hinted to associates that he intends to bring into the Pentagon advisers who have largely been frozen out of the Bush White House, the officials said. Gates traveled to Iraq over Labor Day with the Iraq Study Group, and one close friend of the nominee said that when he returned he was "clearly distraught over the incompetence of how the Iraq operation had been run." He expressed disbelief that Donald Rumsfeld, whom Bush ousted on Wednesday, had not responded more quickly to the rapid deterioration of security in Baghdad. Gates also questioned military leaders there about whether, if they had more American troops in the capital, the violence could be stemmed. Senior administration officials said that pouring more troops into the most violent of the Baghdad neighborhoods was one option that Bush was now considering, but that he was hesitant to commit more forces unless Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki provided far more Iraqi forces for the effort. Until now, Bush has resisted calls from Republicans like Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, to increase the size of the American force, just as he has also rebuffed calls for setting deadlines for the withdrawal of American troops. But Thursday morning, Bush said he was willing to consider new options, seemingly without conditions. "I'm open to any idea or suggestion that will help us achieve our goals of defeating the terrorists and ensuring that Iraq's democratic government succeeds," Bush told reporters after meeting with his cabinet. On Monday, Bush will meet with the Iraq Study Group, was created earlier this year, with the reluctant agreement of the White House, by former Secretary of State James Baker and Lee Hamilton, a former congressman. Gates has been a member from the start, but other members say that Baker and Hamilton resisted holding any discussions about what recommendations the commission should make until after the election. Its report is not expected until December. The group will also meet Democratic leaders next week, and reconvene to make recommendations after Thanksgiving in late November. Gates, a former director of central intelligence, has not tipped his hand on the course changes he would recommend. But both his associates and White House officials said he had left little doubt that if he was confirmed by the Senate, he would be listening to moderate Republicans who worked for the president's father, including those who regarded Iraq as a "war of choice" that distracted the United States from bigger terror threats. "Gates's world is Brent Scowcroft and Baker and a whole bunch of people who felt the door had been slammed in their face," one former official who has discussed Iraq at length with Gates said Thursday. "The door is about to re- open." Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said Thursday that Bush had not asked Gates before choosing him as defense secretary about any conversations he might have had with other members of the Iraq study group. "He's been very clear about the importance that those deliberations and that advice remain confidential and independent," Snow said of Bush.
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#1. To: Eoghan (#0)
(Edited)
I have never thought the Old Man was out of the picture even though some comments were made to the effect that he and Snowcroft were dissed by Junior. I don't buy it, the door wasn't slammed on Rumsfeld, Cheney or Powell. Not to mention Poindexter and Kissinger who were given the nod by the brat but the public made a stink. Now, I think the old man wants to be certain that he gets accomplished whatever goals he has had in mind all along. Gates isn't even approved and already there are allusions to the fact that he intends changes at the Pentagon. More slop for the pigs. Will the Dems approve Gates, I don't know ... Ford forgave Nixon, but you know it was for the best interest of the country.
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