Nearly every day now, working from the stand-up desk in his spacious Pentagon E-Ring office, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pores over a secret document known only to a tight circle of U.S. officials: Deployment Order No. 177. Although it might sound like a one-pager that needs only a quick review, No. 177 is a series of documents, each 10 to 20 pages long, detailing exactly when, how and where Army and Marine battalions, Navy carrier groups and Air Force fighter wings are to be shipped overseas or redeployed for war in Iraq.
Pentagon officials say orders such as No. 177 are...