By Munir K. Nasser
Chief Correspondent, Washington, DC
Albawaba.com
President-elect George W. Bush this week selected Donald Rumsfeld, a veteran Washington insider and strong supporter of missile defenses, to be secretary of defense, the same job he held in the Ford administration a quarter-century ago.
Rumsfeld, 68, a former Navy fighter pilot and Illinois congressman, brings to the Pentagon's top job a man with the military experience and stature in Congress who will push Bush's priorities to modernize the armed forces and build a missile shield against emerging threats
Rumsfeld first came on the national scene as a member of the House of Representatives from Illinois, winning election at the age of 30 in 1962. He served as director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and as US ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization under President Nixon, White House chief of staff in the Ford administration before his first term as defense secretary, and as a special envoy to the Middle East in the Reagan administration.
Rumsfeld resigned his term in Congress in 1969 to join the administration of President Nixon, the first of four presidents he has served largely in military or economic capacities. When he took over the Pentagon for President Ford from 1975 to 1977, he was the youngest to serve in that position at age 43. His term as defense secretary lasted just 14 months and was not marked by any notable incidents.
Introducing Rumsfeld, Bush said "this is a man who has got great judgment, he has got strong vision, and he's going to be a great secretary of defense -- again." Bush took the occasion of the Rumsfeld selection announcement to restate and expand on some of his views on the United States' military posture, starting with a comment that "the foundation of peace is to have a military ready to keep the peace, ready for every danger, equal to every challenge."
Bush cited three goals for the defense of the United States: "One is to strengthen the bond of trust between the American President and those who wear our nation's uniform. Secondly is to defend our people and allies against missiles and terror. And thirdly is to begin creating a military prepared for the dangers of a new century."
Bush indicated that he had chosen Rumsfeld in part because he was impressed with his work as chairman of the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, which in 1998 evaluated the nation's vulnerability to missile attack.
Rumsfeld, in his response, termed the start of the 21st century "clearly not a time at the Pentagon for presiding or calibrating modestly.” He added: "Rather, we are in a new national security environment," one that requires careful attention to "information warfare, missile defense, terrorism, defense of our space assets and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.
"History teaches us that weakness is provocative," Rumsfeld said. "The task you have outlined is to fashion deterrence and defense capabilities, so that our country will be able to successfully contribute to peace and stability in the world."
In the years since Rumsfeld served as Secretary of Defense under President Ford, new threats of global terrorism and missile attack from emerging powers have not eluded him. He headed a commission in 1998 that warned of the new missile threat. The report concluded a missile attack against targets in the United States could be mounted with "little or no warning" and challenged previous intelligence estimates about the severity of the threat. The commission recommended a full review of US analyses and policies regarding the ballistic missile threat.
When the United States became engaged against Yugoslavia, Rumsfeld worried that "we seem to have drifted into this, and I worry about a gradualist approach. ... I think we certainly learned in Vietnam that gradualism does not work.” In congressional testimony in 1997, Rumsfeld said that while proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was a tremendous threat, the chemical weapons treaty then before the Senate was flawed and should be rejected.
Rumsfeld has also spoken out on the Chinese military threat. He was disturbed about how the United States involved its military in Yugoslavia. He warned of the spread of chemical weapons but opposed a chemical weapons treaty that the Senate ratified.
Commenting on Rumsfeld’s appointment, Henry Kissinger, secretary of state while Rumsfeld was at the Pentagon, said that Rumsfeld can "adopt strategic doctrine to a new situation.” Kissinger said Rumsfeld not only would shape the military to meet today's threats but also would build a consensus to do it. He cited the 1998 report of the Rumsfeld Commission on emerging powers' missile threats.
Initial congressional reaction to Rumsfeld's selection, from both parties, was positive. Carl Levin, ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called him "a strong choice." Republican Committee Chairman John Warner, said the nation was "fortunate that this experienced, tested, tough-minded old hand" was returning. Republican conservatives also expressed joy at the selection of Rumsfeld, who is considered a foreign policy hawk and social conservative who served as national chairman of Bob Dole's failed presidential campaign in 1996. Senators from both parties predicted a swift confirmation.
Washington observers note that President-elect Bush has selected someone who looks as much like his vice president Dick Cheney: a tough-minded manager who has spent decades at the top levels of the federal government and corporate America. Both of them had served in Congress and as White House chiefs of staff, and went on to become secretaries of defense. Both also had successful jobs at the top of the corporate world before returning to government.
Analysts think because of his experience and close ties to Cheney, Rumsfeld enters Bush's prospective Cabinet as a power player, a Republican elder statesman who seems likely to agree with the new administration's other heavy hitters on defense issues, but who will be no pushover if he does not. Rumsfeld is a former boss of both the new vice president and the new secretary of state. He gave Cheney his start in the executive branch, bringing him first to the Nixon administration's Office of Economic Opportunity and later to the Ford White House.
Rumsfeld is considered a skilled bureaucratic infighter who will serve as a complement and counterweight on Bush's national security team, especially to Colin Powell, the secretary of state-designate. In announcing Rumsfeld appointment, Bush offered insight into how he envisions his national security team to work and what his role will be. When asked how much influence Cheney and his close friend and ally, General Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would have at the Pentagon, Bush said, "I think little."
Bush continued, referring to Rumsfeld, "I picked a strong leader who is willing to listen to others but is a decisive leader. General Powell's a strong figure, and Dick Cheney's no shrinking violet. But neither is Don Rumsfeld.” He then added: “There's going to be disagreements. I hope there is disagreement, because I know the disagreement will be based upon solid thought. And what you need to know is that if there is disagreement, I'll be prepared to make the decision necessary for the good of the country."
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
