http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/citing-politics-gates-will-not-seek-to-retain-top-pentagon-officers-2007-06-08.html Citing politics, Gates will not seek to retain top Pentagon officers
By Roxana Tiron
June 08, 2007
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is replacing the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after heeding warnings from lawmakers that the current officers would go through a difficult renomination process amid debate over the war in Iraq.
Gates acknowledged he would have liked to nominate both Gen. Peter Pace and Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, the current chairman and vice chairman, but both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill advised him that the duo would face what Gates called a “contentious ordeal” focused on the past rather than the future.
If confirmed, Adm. Mike Mullen, the Navy chief and the most senior of all service chiefs, will replace Pace while Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, the head of Strategic Command, will take Giambastiani’s slot. Both Pace and Giambastiani will retire.
more...