thedrifter
06-09-07, 07:53 AM
Pace out as Joint Chiefs chairman
David Stout, New York Times
Saturday, June 9, 2007
(06-09) 04:00 PDT Washington -- Gen. Peter Pace is being replaced as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a move that reflects a feeling among top civilian officials at the Pentagon and in the White House that the U.S. military needs new leadership after years of being strained by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pace is to be succeeded by Adm. Michael Mullen, who has been chief of naval operations since the summer of 2005, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday.
Gates said renominating Pace would have been an intolerable "divisive ordeal" for the military and the general himself.
Pace, who has been chairman for just less than two years, is known to have wanted to be nominated for a two-year term as chairman, and his renomination by President Bush had been rumored to be in the works.
Gates, who took over from Donald Rumsfeld last fall, said he had wanted since early in his term to renominate Pace. But after talking with Republican and Democratic senators over the past several weeks, Gates said, he concluded that confirmation hearings would have focused "on the past, rather than the future, and further, that there was the very real prospect the process would be quite contentious."
Gates said he was honored to nominate Mullen. "He has the vision, strategic insight and integrity to lead America's military," Gates said.
The secretary said his decision to replace Pace had "absolutely nothing to do" with the general's performance as chairman. The general "has served our country with great distinction and deserves the deepest thanks of the American people," Gates said.
"I am disappointed that the circumstances make this kind of decision necessary," Gates said. "I wish that were not the case. I wish it were not necessary to make a decision like this."
He said the political figures he had conferred with were unanimous in their respect for Pace -- and unanimous in their feeling that a change in Pentagon leadership is needed.
Asked whether the necessity of replacing Pace signaled waning congressional support for the Iraq war, Gates replied, "No, I don't think it says that."
In his time as chairman, Pace rarely showed any sign of disagreement with civilian leaders. In public, at least, he backed Rumsfeld's preference for holding down troop levels in Iraq, until that policy was re-examined by the White House late last year. In March, he caused a stir when he said he believed homosexual conduct to be immoral; soon afterward, he said he should not have said that.
Pace was the first officer from the Marine Corps to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Before that, he was the first from the Marines to serve as vice chairman.
Asked what Mullen would bring to the post, Gates replied in part that the admiral is "a very smart strategic thinker."
Mullen has been overseeing the Navy's expansion to a fleet of more than 300 ships by 2020. But Gates said one indicator of the admiral's broad strategic vision is that he is most concerned about upgrading the Army. If confirmed, the admiral will be the first Navy man to be chairman since Adm. William Crowe, who served from 1985 to 1989.
Ellie
David Stout, New York Times
Saturday, June 9, 2007
(06-09) 04:00 PDT Washington -- Gen. Peter Pace is being replaced as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a move that reflects a feeling among top civilian officials at the Pentagon and in the White House that the U.S. military needs new leadership after years of being strained by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pace is to be succeeded by Adm. Michael Mullen, who has been chief of naval operations since the summer of 2005, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday.
Gates said renominating Pace would have been an intolerable "divisive ordeal" for the military and the general himself.
Pace, who has been chairman for just less than two years, is known to have wanted to be nominated for a two-year term as chairman, and his renomination by President Bush had been rumored to be in the works.
Gates, who took over from Donald Rumsfeld last fall, said he had wanted since early in his term to renominate Pace. But after talking with Republican and Democratic senators over the past several weeks, Gates said, he concluded that confirmation hearings would have focused "on the past, rather than the future, and further, that there was the very real prospect the process would be quite contentious."
Gates said he was honored to nominate Mullen. "He has the vision, strategic insight and integrity to lead America's military," Gates said.
The secretary said his decision to replace Pace had "absolutely nothing to do" with the general's performance as chairman. The general "has served our country with great distinction and deserves the deepest thanks of the American people," Gates said.
"I am disappointed that the circumstances make this kind of decision necessary," Gates said. "I wish that were not the case. I wish it were not necessary to make a decision like this."
He said the political figures he had conferred with were unanimous in their respect for Pace -- and unanimous in their feeling that a change in Pentagon leadership is needed.
Asked whether the necessity of replacing Pace signaled waning congressional support for the Iraq war, Gates replied, "No, I don't think it says that."
In his time as chairman, Pace rarely showed any sign of disagreement with civilian leaders. In public, at least, he backed Rumsfeld's preference for holding down troop levels in Iraq, until that policy was re-examined by the White House late last year. In March, he caused a stir when he said he believed homosexual conduct to be immoral; soon afterward, he said he should not have said that.
Pace was the first officer from the Marine Corps to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Before that, he was the first from the Marines to serve as vice chairman.
Asked what Mullen would bring to the post, Gates replied in part that the admiral is "a very smart strategic thinker."
Mullen has been overseeing the Navy's expansion to a fleet of more than 300 ships by 2020. But Gates said one indicator of the admiral's broad strategic vision is that he is most concerned about upgrading the Army. If confirmed, the admiral will be the first Navy man to be chairman since Adm. William Crowe, who served from 1985 to 1989.
Ellie