June 08, 2007
Pace To Be Replaced As Joint Chiefs Chairman
Defense Secretary Robert Gates today said he would not renominate Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace in order to avoid a "backward-looking instead of forward-looking and contentious" congressional confirmation hearing.
Gates said he intended to renominate Pace -- the first Marine to serve in the position -- for another two years, but that consultation with lawmakers on the Hill forced his hand.
"I concluded that because General Pace has served as the chairman and vice chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] for the last six years, the focus of his confirmation would have been on the past instead of the future," Gates said, visibly unhappy at having to announce his decision.
The defense secretary, who's been on the job for less time than Pace has been chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said he would nominate Adm. Michael G. Mullen, currently chief of naval operations.
"He is a very smart, strategic thinker," Pace said of Mullen. "I think he has a view of the interests of the services as a whole -- a broad view of what the needs of the services are and of the nation."
Gates said Mullen's name was not floated by lawmakers, but was arrived at after consultation with Pace and Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England.
Gates would not name the lawmakers who indicated they would resist Pace's renomination, and insisted the decision from all parties wasn't personal.
"What they to a person told me was the highest respect they had for General Pace," Gates said. "Their comments were more about what they thought the hearings would be like, rather than what they thought of Pace individually."
Gates also said he would name Gen. James Cartwright to replace the vice chairman, Adm. Edmund Giambastiani Jr. A spokesman confirmed on Monday that Giambastiani, once considered a candidate for the top slot, would be retiring this August.
Today's decision is surprising because Pace, who was sworn in less than two years ago, has largely escaped criticism of the administration's handling of the war. But pressure on the Pentagon and armed forces for results in Iraq is intensifying as the Baghdad security plan goes into full effect this summer. Republican lawmakers have said their continued support for the president on the war hinges on a promised assessment of the plan by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander on the ground there. But military insiders are quietly warning that September is an arbitrarily early deadline for a review of the plan.
Gates denied that Republicans indicated to him their support for the war was slipping, but did acknowledge that the nation's mood on the conflict influenced his decision.
"I think that a divisive ordeal at this point is not in the interest of the country or of the military services, of our men and women in uniform," Gates said. "I wish it were not the case. I wish it were not necessary to make a decision like this."
Marine Times has a quick look at Mullen and Pace's careers.
Photo: top, Gen. Peter Pace; bottom, Adm. Michael G. Mullen
Posted at 2:02 PM
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Bush Administration, Peter Pace, Robert Gates
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