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President
Bush Nominates New Secretary of Defense |
Posted:
11.13.06
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One of the first major changes since Democrats were voted into
the majority in the next Congress was the resignation of Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. President Bush nominated former CIA
Director Robert Gates to replace him, signaling a possible change
in Iraq policy.
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President Bush announced the departure of Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld the day after voters in the midterm elections
handed Democrats majorities in both the House of Representatives
and Senate.
"Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that the timing is right
for new leadership in the Pentagon," President Bush said
at a White House press conference Wednesday.
 According
to White House officials, the quick decision following the election
was intended to show the president's and his administration's
willingness to compromise with the new Democrat-dominated legislature.
Exit polls -- questioning of voters as they are leaving polling
stations about how and why they voted -- showed that the Democratic
success was directly related to many voters being dissatisfied
with the war, according to the Associated Press.
President Bush, who insisted that U.S. troops would not leave
Iraq before their mission was complete, said he would nominate
Robert Gates, the president of Texas A& M University and a
former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld.
The Senate must confirm the nomination.
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History of
the Department of Defense |
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If confirmed, Gates would become the 22nd secretary of defense
since the position was established in 1947 with the National Security
Act, which reorganized the U.S. military following World War II.
 Before
WW II, there was the Department of War, which included the Army,
and the Department of the Navy. The act merged the two and became
known as the National Military Establishment. A separate Air Force
also was created at this time.
Two years later, the NME was renamed the Department of Defense.
President Truman created this single civilian headed military
agency because many believed there was disorganization and infighting
between the various branches of the military during World War
II, which ended in 1945.
"They thought it would be desirable to have some kind of
overall scheme that would bring together the political and military
and monetary aspects of national policy, in particular reference
to national security policy," Alfred Goldberg, historian
of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told C-SPAN.
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The role
of the secretary of defense |
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The secretary of defense is the deputy commander in chief of
U.S. forces, a person who responds directly to the president of
the United States, who is the commander in chief.
 The
secretary is a civilian head and may not have served in the active
armed forces for the previous 10 years, although an exception
was made for former Secretary of Defense George Marshall.
As the head of the military, the secretary of defense assists
the president in coming up with military solutions to problems.
In contrast, the Department of State, which is headed by the secretary
of state, assists the president in coming up with political solutions
to foreign policy problems.
There is sometimes tension between these two departments.
Rumsfeld and the current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
have disagreed about the way the occupation in Iraq has been handled,
The New York Times reported.
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Robert Gates
and the strategy in Iraq |
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Gates spent over 25 years working for the Central Intelligence
Agency, culminating as CIA director under President George H.W.
Bush from 1991-1993.
With his experience on the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel
headed by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Democratic
Rep. Lee Hamilton, Gates may be able to help the Bush administration
come up with a new strategy on Iraq.
 "I
think it's not an uncommon thing for the president to seek out
someone they can trust, someone whose loyalty they can be assured
of, and who will in fact, help change direction," professor
Anna Nelson of American University told the Voice of America.
A potential problem for Gates could be his involvement in the
Iran-Contra scandal during the 1980s.
That scandal involves two secret operations in which the United
States sold weapons to Iran to free U.S. hostages in Lebanon,
and gave weapons to Contra guerrillas fighting the leftist government
of Nicaragua. The money from the Iran arms sales funded the weapons
for the Contras.
At his 1991 CIA director confirmation hearings, Gates said he
had forgotten that a colleague had told him about the diversion
of funds, the Associated Press reported.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada has said that he
intends to question Gates about what he knew of Iran-Contra.
Senate confirmation hearings for Gates are expected to start Dec.
4 before the Republicans give up their majority.
--Compiled
by Annie Schleicher for NewsHour Extra
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