Pentagon (Job) Classifieds
Ah, autumn. The crunch of leaves underfoot. Pigskin in the air. The quickening rhythm of Xerox machines pumping out résumés. And nowhere in the administration are they pumping faster than at the Pentagon and the national security apparatus.
The buzz a couple of months back was that Gen. James Jones, chief of the European command, may be moving up to take over Centcom when Gen. John Abizaid retires at the end of this year. Then Abizaid, a civilian, would be able to be named director of national intelligence. The incumbent, John Negroponte, was said to be unhappy and itching to move to a diplomatic post, perhaps as deputy secretary of state.
  Former attorney general John Ashcroft with an exposed Spirit of Justice, the statue at the Justice Department whose breast he kept shrouded. (By Joe Marquette -- Associated Press) |
Sign Up for RSS FeedLet's pause here to, in the best Rummy style, ask and answer our own questions: Why would Negroponte ever give up a Cabinet post for a deputyship? The answer: The diplo world is home, because he has served as ambassador to Honduras, Iraq, the Philippines and the United Nations. Also, being deputy to Secretary Condoleezza Rice wouldn't be so bad, because at heart she's a sharing person. Her former deputy, Robert Zoellick, had a huge portfolio, including China, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Sudan.
Anyway, that was said to be the plan until Jones decided he couldn't work with Donald Rumsfeld and declined the Centcom job. But the buzz has circled back now that Rumsfeld is headed out the door, although this time it's Lt. Gen. David Petraeus who's supposedly in the slot to replace Abizaid at year's end. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, now the No. 2 in Baghdad, is to replace Gen. George Casey when Casey returns to the Pentagon next year to become Army chief of staff.
Bolton's 'Acting' Ability
The confirmation of John Bolton to be U.N. ambassador appears to be dead, but it's not over yet. There's still talk that the White House may try to copy the Clinton administration's sleight of hand of keeping unconfirmed Justice Department civil rights chief Bill Lann Lee on as an unconfirmed acting chief.
In this variation, Bolton would be put in a U.N. job that doesn't require confirmation. Then he would be named acting ambassador. But there's doubt that this could be squared with the language of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
If the U.N. move won't fly, there's talk that Bolton could become deputy national security adviser if J.D. Crouch decides to move.
The Dems' Poor Bet
Congressional Democrats have been crowing about their brilliant campaigns. But we're hearing that two weeks before the elections, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was looking to expand the playing field into other races that seemed to be tightening.
So with Iowa looking like fertile Democratic territory, the DCCC commissioned a poll in the state's 2nd District and concluded that Rep. Jim Leach (R) was probably unbeatable. The group decided not to give any money to the long-shot candidate, Rep.-elect Dave Loebsack.
Lost in Translation
Outgoing House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was rumored a couple of years ago to be hoping to be named ambassador to Japan. The job went to Tom Schieffer, a pal of President Bush's who was then the ambassador to Australia.
Then, just before the recent elections, the buzz was that Hastert was a leading contender to replace Schieffer. But Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean told our colleague Jeff Birnbaum last week that the reports that Hastert was on track for the Tokyo posting were untrue.
Ashcroft's Curtain Call
Don't forget: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, at 10 a.m. sharp on Friday, will be in the Great Hall of the Justice Department for the "unveiling of the official portrait of former Attorney General John Ashcroft," the department announced.
This is Gonzales's second "Great Unveiling." The first was when he succeeded Ashcroft and took down that goofy $8,000 blue curtain that Ashcroft put up in the Great Hall to cover the bare right breast of a 12-foot statue of a woman, the Spirit of Justice (a.k.a. "Minnie Lou").
Weldon's Woes
The spooks at Langley usually are more interested in voter turnout in Tehran than in Tallahassee. But more than a few cheered on election night when Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a Loop favorite, was trounced weeks after federal agents raided the homes of his daughter and a close political supporter to determine whether Weldon traded his influence to benefit himself and his daughter's lobbying firm.
In the past year or so, Weldon has blasted the intelligence community, charging it with Sept. 11 coverups and with willfully dismissing imminent threats from Iran. This fueled Internet conspiracy theories, ignited investigations and infuriated the intelligence crowd. None of the claims, however, panned out, according to government panels, outside investigators and former and current intelligence officers.
The Viet Gone
And now, from the gang that announced it was going to play the national anthem of the Republic of China -- also known as Taiwan -- for China's president, Hu Jintao, when he came to the White House earlier this year. . . .
President Bush is heading to Vietnam this week to make nice with the commies. The White House Web site announced his visit there and to Singapore and Indonesia.
And the Vietnamese flag the site featured? Looks a lot like the flag of South Vietnam, which hasn't existed since 1975. The White House figured it out last night and put up the correct flag.
