Military Maneuvers

In naming a replacement for Colin Powell, the President moves toward becoming a real Commander in Chief

Since the day Bill Clinton was sworn in, his command over the armed forces has suffered from the sort of contempt rarely shown by the men and women in uniform toward a newly minted President. Believing that 12 years of Republican indulgence has habituated the military to calling its own shots, the President has dreamed of reaffirming civilian leadership over the Pentagon. But his hands have been tied both by his image as a draft dodger and by the popularity and political adroitness of General Colin Powell, the extraordinary Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who virtually dictated the Pentagon's...

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