.Mullen viewed as pragmatist on Iraq
WASHINGTON — By recommending Adm. Michael Mullen to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has chosen a low-key pragmatist without a well-established stake in the Iraq strategy to be the country's senior military adviser.
Unlike the two previous chairmen, Mullen, 60, was not in a top Pentagon post when the Bush administration made the decision to invade Iraq. Those who know him say that if confirmed as chairman, he has little reason to stick with a policy if he decides it is not working.
"He will be pragmatic about Iraq," said retired Adm. Robert Natter, who described himself as a close friend. "I know, because I've had long conversations about it with him."
Yet Mullen has seemed, at least until now, to share the basic assumptions of his predecessors about the way ahead.
Like them, he acknowledges that there is no purely military solution to the conflict and that it is up to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to take political steps in coming months that will lead to political reconciliation among the country's Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
Like Gates, Mullen appears willing to give the current strategy at least until September to show signs of working.
"It is a matter of months that this surge is designed to apply," Mullen said in a recent interview, noting that the White House had consulted the chiefs before adopting the new strategy. "If there isn't political progress, if there isn't economic progress, the military isn't going to make this work."
Mullen's biggest challenge if the strategy shows signs of failure could be persuading Bush, who until now has resisted efforts by Congress to radically reduce the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
A Naval Academy graduate from Los Angeles who began his military career at the height of the Vietnam War, Mullen has long been one of the Navy's stars. He was given his first sea command while still a lieutenant — a rarity — and he went on to hold commands at sea and ashore, including deputy chief of naval operations. He also oversaw all NATO naval forces in Europe in 2004 and 2005.
Mullen earned two master's degrees, one in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School and another from Harvard Business School. As chief of naval operations, he has pushed to reverse the decline in the size of the Navy's fleet, which has shrunk to fewer than 280 ships, and to build new types of vessels for unconventional conflicts the United States may face in the future.
"I have become well-acquainted with Adm. Mullen over the past six months and believe he has the vision, strategic insight, experience and integrity to lead America's armed forces," Gates said Friday.
Natter said he was not surprised that Gates had grown to rely on Mullen. "They are both quiet professionals and they don't place their egos into any arguments or into any debates," he said.
Gates seemed impressed by Mullen's ability to look beyond the interests of his own service. When asked recently by one of Gates' aides what he was most concerned about, Mullen replied that he was worried about the Army, which has been badly stretched by fighting wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Gates told reporters.
Those who have worked at senior levels at the Pentagon said Mullen had shown the independence needed in a chairman during meetings with civilian officials in the Pentagon conference room, known as "the tank," where the chiefs convene.
"I've seen him at several of the tank meetings stand up and say, 'Wait a minute. Is this really the best way to do this?'" said Gen. Michael Hagee, the former Marine Corps commandant, who said he met Mullen when they were plebes at the Naval Academy in 1964.
Mullen is married and has two sons. Both are Navy officers, and one of them recently returned from a tour as an aviator flying missions over Iraq.
chron
Unlike the two previous chairmen, Mullen, 60, was not in a top Pentagon post when the Bush administration made the decision to invade Iraq. Those who know him say that if confirmed as chairman, he has little reason to stick with a policy if he decides it is not working.
"He will be pragmatic about Iraq," said retired Adm. Robert Natter, who described himself as a close friend. "I know, because I've had long conversations about it with him."
Yet Mullen has seemed, at least until now, to share the basic assumptions of his predecessors about the way ahead.
Like them, he acknowledges that there is no purely military solution to the conflict and that it is up to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to take political steps in coming months that will lead to political reconciliation among the country's Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
Like Gates, Mullen appears willing to give the current strategy at least until September to show signs of working.
"It is a matter of months that this surge is designed to apply," Mullen said in a recent interview, noting that the White House had consulted the chiefs before adopting the new strategy. "If there isn't political progress, if there isn't economic progress, the military isn't going to make this work."
Mullen's biggest challenge if the strategy shows signs of failure could be persuading Bush, who until now has resisted efforts by Congress to radically reduce the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
A Naval Academy graduate from Los Angeles who began his military career at the height of the Vietnam War, Mullen has long been one of the Navy's stars. He was given his first sea command while still a lieutenant — a rarity — and he went on to hold commands at sea and ashore, including deputy chief of naval operations. He also oversaw all NATO naval forces in Europe in 2004 and 2005.
Mullen earned two master's degrees, one in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School and another from Harvard Business School. As chief of naval operations, he has pushed to reverse the decline in the size of the Navy's fleet, which has shrunk to fewer than 280 ships, and to build new types of vessels for unconventional conflicts the United States may face in the future.
"I have become well-acquainted with Adm. Mullen over the past six months and believe he has the vision, strategic insight, experience and integrity to lead America's armed forces," Gates said Friday.
Natter said he was not surprised that Gates had grown to rely on Mullen. "They are both quiet professionals and they don't place their egos into any arguments or into any debates," he said.
Gates seemed impressed by Mullen's ability to look beyond the interests of his own service. When asked recently by one of Gates' aides what he was most concerned about, Mullen replied that he was worried about the Army, which has been badly stretched by fighting wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Gates told reporters.
Those who have worked at senior levels at the Pentagon said Mullen had shown the independence needed in a chairman during meetings with civilian officials in the Pentagon conference room, known as "the tank," where the chiefs convene.
"I've seen him at several of the tank meetings stand up and say, 'Wait a minute. Is this really the best way to do this?'" said Gen. Michael Hagee, the former Marine Corps commandant, who said he met Mullen when they were plebes at the Naval Academy in 1964.
Mullen is married and has two sons. Both are Navy officers, and one of them recently returned from a tour as an aviator flying missions over Iraq.
chron
posted by madtom at 11:58 PM
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