The sharp saluter on the left in the photo is being replaced because the less than straighter shooters on the right are out of range of the Democrats. General Pace has been a military man managing a civilian inspired and directed war. The motivation would be to do the most with what he had. His position is advisory and get his photo taken with the president. Secretary Gates decided to let him go so he would not have a tough time facing the Senate. The Democrats are still incensed that Pace was frank in his objections to homosexuals in the military. General Pace, a good and honorable man, is going down because of the lesser men he served. That is how it goes. Now Bush will have to hope he does not have to face Pace's book. Pace to be replaced as Joint Chiefs head
Published Saturday, June 9, 2007
By Lolita Baldor Tuscaloosa News
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON | Bitter divisions over the Iraq war, particularly on Capitol Hill, led the Bush administration to change course and replace Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a grim Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
Gates said that despite earlier plans to recommend Pace for a second two-year term as chairman, he instead was recommending Adm. Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, to take over when Pace’s term expires Sept. 30. President Bush accepted the recommendation.
“I think that the events of the last several months have simply created an environment in which I think there would be a confirmation process that would not be in the best interests of the country," Gates said. “I wish it were not necessary to make a decision like this. But I think it’s a realistic appraisal of where we are."
Bush praised Pace, saying he has “relied on his unvarnished military judgment, and I value his candor, his integrity, and his friendship."
“Pete’s job has been to help ensure that America’s military forces are prepared to meet the threats of this new century," Bush said in a statement issued in Rome, where he is visiting. “This is a difficult task in a time of peace. Pete Pace has done it in a time of war -- and he has done it superbly."
Gates said he had been told by Republican and Democratic senators that a confirmation hearing for Pace would be a “backward-looking and very contentious process."
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., acknowledged such advice, saying he had gathered views from a broad range of senators. “I found that the views of many senators reflected my own," and confirmation would have focused on the past four years of war, he said.
A spokesman for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said she, too, believed it would have been a difficult renomination.
