Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Dempsey as JCS chairman?

The AP, which has been breaking news lately, says that Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Yeats-reading new chief of the Army, is gonna become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The two questions I have: –Why deprive the Army of his talents now? The Army needs some help. –Why is Gates leading making the ...

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

The AP, which has been breaking news lately, says that Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Yeats-reading new chief of the Army, is gonna become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

The AP, which has been breaking news lately, says that Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Yeats-reading new chief of the Army, is gonna become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

The two questions I have:

–Why deprive the Army of his talents now? The Army needs some help.

–Why is Gates leading making the choice, instead of Panetta, the guy who will have to work with him?

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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