Army Secretary Thomas White, the Enron executive who parlayed his skills at running private companies into bankruptcy into an important-sounding position in the Bush Administration, has stepped down. The official administration spin — which was only slightly less credible than a press briefing from the former Iraqi Information Minister — claimed that White quit. The reality was that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who thought of White as little more than a lobbyist for defense contractors promoting unnecessary investment in cumbersome weapons such as the canceled Crusader artillery system, fired the Army Secretary.
No one should mourn White’s departure. His presence in the administration was Exhibit A for the case that the Bush team had bartered off positions of authority to hacks who saw government “service” as a means to enrich their corporate comrades — and, ultimately, themselves.
There is one reason to hold back on celebrating White’s departure, however. The primary effect of his exit will be to solidify Rumsfeld’s control over all of the country’s military affairs. With White out, and with the coming retirement of General Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff with whom Rumsfeld and his aides clashed, the Defense Secretary will be well positioned to nominate loyalists for the Army’s top civilian position and the senior military slot.
For those who worry that Rumsfeld might be just a bit too full of himself, the notion of a Defense Secretary surrounded by yes-men should be a sobering one.
