October 01, 2007

Changing Of The Guard At The Joint Chiefs

With the departure of Gen. Peter Pace and installment of Adm. Michael Mullen as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top leadership of the Iraq war now looks very different from 2003, when the initial invasion was launched.

Following former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers and retired Gen. John Abizaid, Pace this morning became, in the words of NPR's Tom Bowman, the "last of the senior Pentagon officials who helped plan and carry out the Iraq war" to leave the Defense Department. Back in June, Defense Secretary Robert Gates decided not to renominate Pace because he feared it would lead to a "backward-looking instead of forward-looking and contentious" confirmation hearing.

During his term as Joint Chiefs chairman, Pace largely escaped the scrutinizing eye of war skeptics in Washington, which made Gates' announcement something of a surprise. The most controversial aspect of Pace's tenure seems to have stemmed from his position on homosexuality and gays in the military, not the Iraq war.

Indeed, the strongest criticism lodged against Pace -- that he was too passive in the face of faulty leadership -- seems to say more about his superiors than his own judgment. "It goes back to, do you think you were effective in advising the secretary of Defense and the president," Pace's predecessor, Gen. Myers, told NPR last week. "I think the answer is yes in both our cases. I think we were trusted advisers. Does it mean that civilian authorities were always going to follow your advice? No, it does not."

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Posted at 3:30 PM
Posted to: Iraq, Michael Mullen, Military, Peter Pace
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August 24, 2007

How To Force Bush To End The War

Here's some hopeful news for you anti-war protesters out there: By the middle of next year, it may be impossible to keep current operations going in Iraq.

Obviously, there really isn't anything hopeful or positive about this development. Officials inside and outside the Pentagon have been saying for at least a couple of years that the military was nearing its breaking point. According to Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace, everything goes poof in 2008 unless forces in Iraq are reduced by almost half, the Los Angeles Times reports.

There's good reason to suspect that so long as U.S. forces continue to make some gains on the ground, as is currently the case, President Bush will continue to say that the U.S. is winning and should keep at it until Iraq is a semblance of a self-sustaining nation. Probably the only thing that could compel Bush to order a withdrawal is being told that unless he and the rest of the Bush clan are willing to take up arms and fight the war themselves, keeping it going is a physical impossibility.

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Posted at 2:47 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, David Petraeus, Iraq, Middle East, Military, Peter Pace, President Bush, Robert Gates
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July 16, 2007

Supersizing The Surge?

Gen. Peter Pace, outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today that the military is considering several possible strategic changes in the coming months, including a larger buildup of U.S. forces in Iraq on top of the "surge" of troops already implemented this year.

AP reports that Pace would not predict which direction the Joint Chiefs will eventually choose, but he told reporters that military leaders are doing "the kind of thinking that we need to do and be prepared for whatever it’s going to look like two months from now," when Gen. David Petraeus is scheduled to deliver his progress report on the war. Pace indicated that increasing, decreasing or keeping deployments at their current level were all possibilities.

The Joint Chiefs are also considering a possible shift in tactics, from current combat operations to a focus on training Iraqi forces and battling terrorism.

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Posted at 1:47 PM
Posted to: Iraq, Peter Pace, Senate
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June 28, 2007

Bush Nominates New Chairman Of Joint Chiefs

President Bush officially nominated Navy Adm. Michael Mullen as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff this morning.

"He was with me after the attacks of Sept. 11," Bush said, expressing confidence in Mullen's experience.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced in early June that the current man in the job, Gen. Peter Pace, would not be nominated for a second stint in the post.

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Posted at 8:54 AM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Military, Peter Pace
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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.

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Posted at 2:02 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Peter Pace, Robert Gates
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