Posted by binky at December 29, 2005 06:43 PM | TrackBack | Posted to The Ever Shrinking ConstitutionHeading a military service isn't quite the position of power it used to be. In a Bush administration revision of plans for Pentagon succession in a doomsday scenario, three of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's most loyal advisers moved ahead of the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
A little-noticed holiday week executive order from President Bush moved the Pentagon's intelligence chief to the No. 3 spot in the succession hierarchy behind Rumsfeld. The second spot would be the deputy secretary of defense, but that position currently is vacant. The Army secretary, which long held the No. 3 spot, was dropped to sixth.The changes, announced last week, are the second in six months and reflect the administration's new emphasis on intelligence gathering versus combat in 21st century war fighting.
Yeah, that excerpt doesn't point out that the guy who got moved up was Steven Cambone who has had his fingers in about everything controversial in the DoD since the war began.
I don't really know what to make of this either. Seemingly out of the blue, I guess it was before Rumsfeld went to "victorious and peaceful Iraq."
But, I'll bet the Army folks are steaming.
Mike
Oh, and I'm gonna drop a link to you if you care.
Mike
Posted by: mikevotes at December 30, 2005 11:07 AM | PERMALINKThis one makes no real sense to me. I suppose any bureaucratic organization needs a line of succession, but having one six-deep for the Department of Defense (not the entire government) seems sort of silly. If we loose the top five officials in DOD, we're in a whole heap more trouble than worrying about whether number six is more or less ideologically nutty.
In other words, who cares? On the other hand, why bother doing this? Like I said: this one just makes no sense.
Posted by: baltar at December 30, 2005 11:33 AM | PERMALINKI think it makes sense. There are enough events that all of these people attend to make them all being wiped out at once something to be worried about. So I think going six deep is reasonable. Though yeah, I bet the Army is pissed, and I'm not so sure making the intel chief #3 is the best of ideas. Isn't that the job that was, until recently, held by a certain holy warrior who somehow held on to his job?
Posted by: Armand at December 30, 2005 11:57 AM | PERMALINK