On Monday President Obama moved to complete the overhaul of his national security team, selecting Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as the next Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman amid a winding down of the war in Iraq, protracted battle in Afghanistan and U.S. assistance to the NATO-led effort against Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.
Obama announced his new lineup of his top military leadership in the Rose Garden at the White House, just before venturing across the Potomac to pay tribute to the nation’s war dead at Arlington National Cemetery. The Memorial Day announcements had been expected, although there was no immediate indication what the military leadership moves might imply for possible changes in military policy.
In late April, Obama named CIA Director Leon Panetta to succeed Robert Gates and secretary of defense and chose to move Army Gen. David Petraeus from his command of the Afghanistan war effort to the United States to replace Panetta at the CIA.
At one time rumors had it that Marine Gen. James Cartwright, was Obama’s favorite, and the president singled him out for praise at the announcement. But he turned instead to Dempsey, an accomplished veteran of the Iraq war, to succeed Adm. Mike Mullen as his top military adviser, calling the Army officer “one of our nation’s most respected and combat-tested generals.” My Northwest
And as Cartwright’s replacement, Obama named Navy Adm. James Winnefeld to succeed as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Army Gen. Ray Odierno as his candidate to replace Dempsey as Army chief of staff. These nominees have to be approved by the Senate. Afterwards, Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In his speech, he said:
“To those of you mourn the loss of a loved one today, my heart goes out to you.”
“We remember that the blessings that we enjoy as Americans came at a dear cost,” he said. “Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we cannot ever fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice, and we must.” After his remarks, Obama visited a section of the cemetery that is the final resting place for many veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dempsey, who began a four-year term as Army chief of staff on April 11, will have to be confirmed by the Senate, as will Winnefeld and Odierno. Mullen also said he has perceived strong support among the American people for American servicemen and women and said he’s grateful for that. He said he doesn’t want to see a “disconnect” between the uniformed men and women and the population at large.
Asked if a change of guard at the Joint Chiefs meant a change of strategy in Afghanistan, he replied, “We obviously have added these forces … and we’ve really seen progress on the security side. … We will sustain losses as we have in the last few days. … That said, I am confident that by the end of the year, we’ll be in a much, much better position.”
