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Who Will be New Army Chief of Staff?
Aired June 03, 2003 - 15:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as the president works toward peace in that region, the violence continues inside Iraq. A U.S. soldier assigned to the Army's Fourth Infantry Division died late Monday from wounds suffered during an attack on a military checkpoint north of Baghdad.
At the Pentagon, meantime, a job that has been filled by some of the great Army generals in U.S. military history, names like McCarthur, Eisenhower and Bradley, is about to go empty. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Next week, General Eric Shinseki will retire as the Army's chief of staff. No one has been named to replace him, leaving the top job empty at a time of major change. A bipartisan group of senators, led by Arm Services Chairman John Warner, has written to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld questioning why no nomination has been sent to Capitol Hill.
The letter says: "We are at a critical juncture in our nation's history, with over 100,000 Army soldiers deployed around the globe in support of the war on terror."
Shinseki, badly wounded in Vietnam and awarded two purple hearts, leaves with strained relations with Rumsfeld. Earlier this year, Shinseki told Congress several hundred thousand troops might be needed for post-war Iraq. A statement strongly disputed by the Pentagon, but now proving to be close to the mark. Rumsfeld has always denied he is at war with the Army leadership.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: ... inside Washington thing, it's just not true.
STARR: Some Rumsfeld watchers speculate the secretary, often critical of what he says is the Army's focus on traditional warfare, is sending a message. The Army could get by for a while without a new leader. But under Shinseki, the Army already had begun the very transformation Rumsfeld is pushing. For example, billions of dollars are being spent on the striker, a new fast-moving armored fighting vehicle.
Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke insists Rumsfeld is focused hard on the Army chief of staff position. He will make his recommendation to the president, she says. So far, two four-star generals have rejected the job offer. General Tommy Franks, head of Central Command, is choosing retirement. And General John Keane, Shinseki's deputy, will retire as well. One candidate, Lieutenant General John Abizaid, a Central Command deputy, but he was being groomed to replace Franks.
(on camera): And the top civilian job in the Army, secretary of the Army, is also empty right now. The Senate has not yet approved the president's nominee. Now, no one suggests this is a military crisis, but everyone agrees there's plenty of Pentagon politics at work. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 3, 2003 - 15:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as the president works toward peace in that region, the violence continues inside Iraq. A U.S. soldier assigned to the Army's Fourth Infantry Division died late Monday from wounds suffered during an attack on a military checkpoint north of Baghdad.
At the Pentagon, meantime, a job that has been filled by some of the great Army generals in U.S. military history, names like McCarthur, Eisenhower and Bradley, is about to go empty. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Next week, General Eric Shinseki will retire as the Army's chief of staff. No one has been named to replace him, leaving the top job empty at a time of major change. A bipartisan group of senators, led by Arm Services Chairman John Warner, has written to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld questioning why no nomination has been sent to Capitol Hill.
The letter says: "We are at a critical juncture in our nation's history, with over 100,000 Army soldiers deployed around the globe in support of the war on terror."
Shinseki, badly wounded in Vietnam and awarded two purple hearts, leaves with strained relations with Rumsfeld. Earlier this year, Shinseki told Congress several hundred thousand troops might be needed for post-war Iraq. A statement strongly disputed by the Pentagon, but now proving to be close to the mark. Rumsfeld has always denied he is at war with the Army leadership.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: ... inside Washington thing, it's just not true.
STARR: Some Rumsfeld watchers speculate the secretary, often critical of what he says is the Army's focus on traditional warfare, is sending a message. The Army could get by for a while without a new leader. But under Shinseki, the Army already had begun the very transformation Rumsfeld is pushing. For example, billions of dollars are being spent on the striker, a new fast-moving armored fighting vehicle.
Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke insists Rumsfeld is focused hard on the Army chief of staff position. He will make his recommendation to the president, she says. So far, two four-star generals have rejected the job offer. General Tommy Franks, head of Central Command, is choosing retirement. And General John Keane, Shinseki's deputy, will retire as well. One candidate, Lieutenant General John Abizaid, a Central Command deputy, but he was being groomed to replace Franks.
(on camera): And the top civilian job in the Army, secretary of the Army, is also empty right now. The Senate has not yet approved the president's nominee. Now, no one suggests this is a military crisis, but everyone agrees there's plenty of Pentagon politics at work. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
