The announced resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is hardly a recognition of the election results. The reason is that the War Party has been calling for his resignation for not putting more troops in Iraq. Remember, neocon Bill Kristol was among the first to declare “Rummy must go!”, followed shortly by Andrew “Nuke Iraq” Sullivan.
Former CIA director Robert Gates, Rummy’s replacement, is well-known for politicizing intelligence during his tenure under George Herbert Walker Bush, yet some see him as firmly in the “realist” camp. Gates is the author, along with Zbigniew Brzezinski, of a Council on Foreign Relations study that advocates dealing directly with Iran. So the neocons aren’t going to like that. According to Chris Matthews on MSNBC, the President broke with Dick Cheney, who wanted to keep Rummy on, and also rejected the Vice President’s advice that he appoint a neoconservative ideologue to the post.
The neoconservative grip on American foreign policy is not yet ended, although it may be loosening.
Note: The firing of Rummy was telegraphed here.
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