December 2nd 2008
Continuity, Discontinued
As “Change We Can Believe In” morphs into “Continuity That Doesn’t Freak Us Out Entirely,” the continuity offered by Obama’s senior picks seem less continuity-ish. Take David Gates at the Pentagon, for example.
Sure, Gates is staying on as Defense Sec, and that’s a very good thing in these tumultuous times. But good leaders require and depend on good deputies, and Gates’ deputies apparently are not too keen on working with the Obama team, or visa versa.
WaPo reports today that all of Gates senior advisers are heading out the door, and Obama-picked replacements are coming in. Here’s the brief:
Deputy Defense Sec. Gordon England is out for sure and possible replacements include Obama campaign adviser Richard J. Danzig (Who as Clinton’s undersec and sec of the Navy oversaw a huge reduction in the Navy’s ships, from 454 to 341 - and he’s rumored to be Gates’ replacement!), transition team co-leader for the Pentagon Michèle A. Flournoy (who hopefully won’t be too French in her approach to defense) and former Pentagon comptroller William J. Lynn, who was appointed to that post by one William Jefferson Clinton.
Eric Edelman, Undersec for Policy is out in January and Flournoy is a possible replacement. Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr. is out as the Undersec for Intelligence, and no replacements have hit the rumor mill yet. Undersec for Personnel and Readiness David S.C. Chu is also rumored to be “hitting the reset button.”
One prospect for continuity is Michael G. Vickers, who the Post says may keep one of the longest titles around - assistant secretary for special operations, low-intensity conflict, and interdependent capabilities. He oversees some of the U.S. military’s most sensitive operations - which hopefully will be continuing in AO1 (Age of Obama, year one).
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