Changing of the guard in the Pentagon
November 9, 2006| By Nathaniel Ward
President Bush announced yesterday that Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down as Secretary of Defense. The President nominated former CIA director Robert Gates to take the top Pentagon job.
In a new analysis of the consequences of the Pentagon shakeup, Heritage defense expert James Carafano notes that Rumsfeld’s “tenure saw several significant advances.” These included new missile defenses, a long-overdue military transformation and the deployment of forces to fight the war on terrorism.
Carafano outlines many issues that the new secretary will have to address. These include:
- Finishing the job in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Deploying effective missile defenses to counter proliferation in such places as North Korea and Iran
- Continuing efforts to disrupt terrorist networks and foil their plans
- Preventing a “hollow force” by ensuring the military is adequately funded.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.