With the departure of General Jones from the White House, America is losing fine public servant and excellent military man. One of the few in Washington who eschewed the limelight, Jones did his job fairly competently and with a minimum of self promotion.
Will we get that lucky with his replacement?
The man picked to be President Obama's next national security advisor was sharply criticized by top officials in the administration, with the Secretary of Defense saying he would be a "disaster" in the job. According to the new book about the Obama administration's handling of Iraq and Afghanistan by Bob Woodward, Pentagon chief Robert Gates expressed deep reservations about Deputy National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, who has been tapped to be the successor to Gen. James Jones.
In the book "Obama's Wars," Woodward writes that, "Gates felt that Donilon did not understand the military or treat its senior leadership with sufficient respect."
"The secretary later told Jones that Donilon would be a ‘disaster' as Obama's national security adviser," Woodward wrote.
Jones -- a former Marine Corps Commandant who served as Obama's national security advisor since the first days of the administration -- also warned Woodward about Donilon's shortcomings, saying though he had "organizational skills," his deputy didn't know enough about the subjects on which he was advising the president.
Donilon has never bothered to go to Iraq or Afghanistan, nor is he known for his breadth of knowledge with regard to other foreign policy issues.
Ed Lasky adds:
Hey it might have been worse-the deputy NSC adviser, Ben Rhodes, was a frustrated fiction writer who morphed into the Foreign Policy speechwriter for the Obama campaign and then was promoted to be the deputy NSC adviser-with no, zero, military ,intelligence or diplomatic experience. He also was involved in writing the Cairo speech.
Maybe we should count our blessings....
Thomas Lifson adds: Donilon was a lobbyist for Fannie Mae, and fought off regulatory reforms. If he does for national security what he acomplished for the economy, we are doomed.
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