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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

If Gates to NSC, then Sen. Reed to Pentagon

That was the buzz I heard at a Washington party last night. The two individuals who passed this along said they doubt it will happen, mainly because Defense Secretary Gates is determined to get the Pentagon to shape up.  Alex Wong/Getty Images

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584687_090619_jackreed12.jpg
WASHINGTON - MARCH 01: U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) speaks to the media after a closed-door briefing by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace March 1, 2007 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Members of the U.S. Senate were briefed on national security and the war in Iraq. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jack Reed

That was the buzz I heard at a Washington party last night. The two individuals who passed this along said they doubt it will happen, mainly because Defense Secretary Gates is determined to get the Pentagon to shape up. 

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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