James (Not Earl) Jones As National Security Adviser

From The Politico:

President-elect Barack Obama is close to landing James L. Jones (Times bio), the well-known retired Marine Corps general, as his national security adviser, sources said.

Folks hoping for victory in Iraq should be heartened.  A bit of background:

“At the request of the U.S. Congress, Jones recently chaired the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq.”

So he did.  Let's cut to Times coverage of their report, issued in Sept 2007:

For Mr. McCain, the report provided powerful support for his long-held position that it would be a mistake for Congress to set a firm deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq. When retired Gen. James L. Jones of the Marines, who led the commission, told the committee, “I think deadlines can work against us and I think a deadline of this magnitude would be against our national interest,” Mr. McCain could not have been more satisfied. “I thank you,” he said.

Jones has also been pushing on Afghanistan and briefed Obama on same; from the Times bio:

As head of NATO forces, he served in the military’s most diplomatic of war-fighting assignments. The job required finding consensus for military action among squabbling member governments when the alliance took over significant portions of the war in Afghanistan.

The briefing book. Before President-elect Obama traveled to Afghanistan during the campaign, General Jones briefed him on the American and the Atlantic alliance security and assistance mission there. He also has briefed Mr. Obama on energy policy issues.

OK - if folks don't like this choice, tell me why not.  My only yellow sign is an absence of howling at DKos, but the day is young.  And that said, Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly is supportive for reasons that do not trouble me.

MORE:  Hawks are circling at Powerline and the Campaign Spot.  Geez, good news - now if I could just remember how to smile...

WISTFUL THINKING: From Salon's War Room:

Jones was an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's policies in the Iraq war.

As was John McCain.

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!  Whinging we can believe in at Open Left.

Comments

[clarice]

This is getting bizarre.

[kim]

Benen features Hilzoy. That's enough for me.
=========================

[vinman]

McCain--Shadow president?

[Mustang0302]

Good. General Jones is nobody's yes-man.

May the moonbats be as dismayed as I am pleased with this choice.

[FiD0h]

So, he's the head of the 'NATO War' spies? He did a bad job with the Harvard PC NGO spy thing(s). Did he have Shays send all that USAID CIA spy money to pals?

The Jones review was pretty good. It was smart how he got all their social security checks. Like Obama with our foreign aid and mortgages.

[Jor]

Anyone who was paying the least bit of attention knew Obama was not going to surround himself with "yes men".

[kim]

Jor, I'm paying attention and I still don't know what the Hell. I agree there are cental enigmas.
=============================

[kim]

So, I'm still left with unexpected talent at managing diverse inputs. How long before it becomes obvious that Obama is the face?
=====================================

[glasater]

Or it could be Rahm's face.

[kim]

It will be very interesting to figure out what is going on. Too bad the press won't help us to understand this administration any better than they helped us to understand the last one.
=====================================

[YesUnion]

It's not doe, it's families keeping government jobs and tax money in the family. Obama expects his thing to be President like Bill's wife got to be Congressman. These people are all rich from our tax money, not work.

[kim]

How essentially clean, that comment. 'These people are all rich from our tax money, not work.'
==================================

[Antimedia]

All these appointments are starting to make sense now. Obama hasn't got the slightest clue how to govern, so he's reaching out to anyone that will say "Yes".

[Antimedia]

Jor

Anyone who was paying the least bit of attention knew Obama was not going to surround himself with "yes men".

Thanks for maintaining levity here. How could we possibly do without you?

[narciso]

I remember a Wall Street journal profile of Jones, about a year back, when he retired
and was working at the Chamber of Commerce
saying Rumsfeld had offered him CENTCOM, but
it would entail too much effort; so he turned it down, we were left with Esquire poster boy Admiral Fallon; who talked his way right out of a job; which made it possible for Petraeus to step in. His other
positions on the Arab Israeli conflict are equally nuanced ;nee wrong. We were lucky to have Petraeus who had refined his counter
insurgency experience at Ft. Leavenworth. We're probably out of this kind of luck for a while.

On another note, from the sublime to the moronic; the media doesn't fail to disappoint once again, when it comes to Sarah. From the 'turkey massacre' (you mean it's not plastic) to David Letterman's innuendos to Katie Couric, whose 5th place
ranking, hasn't given her the sense to really tell the truth (why start now)So the bumptious boob from Ball State, possibly after looking at the Bauer/Griffin catalog
admits that Sarah 'arouses' him. That gave
Katie, all sorts of unconfortable feelings. I mean she's supposed to be the perky one, dammit. Yet another "Mean Girls" scene come to life. You know there's possibly a thesis that has yet to be written on the topic I think that Late Show appearance has been indefinitely postponed; if it was ever on to begin with. Hey if Chris Matthews can get the 'tingle up his leg, and Keith Olberman. . .Sarah's combination of beauty, brains, and self confidence, on display in the various interviews, and at the RGA conference is something they have yet to really zero in on. When they do, as Carney, Stein, Ruedrich,Renkes Murkowski, found out; they'll be in the rear view mirror.

[clarice]

I think the answer is "vitality", narciso, and there doesn't seem to be enough of it in the big three studios.

[bgates]

OK, because I need to clean up some comments as much as I need to hide some others, here's a successor to the troll blocker.

I give you: The narcisolator. It's amazing how much more readable narciso is without the
tags and the semicolons.

[bgates]

Ha! The 'br' tag showed up fine in the preview, properly escaped and everything.

[Pofarmer]

Anyone who was paying the least bit of attention knew Obama was not going to surround himself with "yes men".

Yeah, he's not smart enough. Somebodies got to drive.

[clarice]

Whew! Thanks for the OpenLeft update. I was afraid the sinistros were all asleep at the switch or something. Wouldn't want to think that Obama could so easily pull the wool over their eyes. No sirree.

[Hucbald]

The Who's, "Meet the new boss... Same as the old boss" but in a good, non-sarcastic way.

[narciso]

I don't quite know how to take that, does it work like Babelfish? Whole lot of trolls
out there though, actually nazguls and orukhai orcs, On "Turkeygate" one is reminded that one of the commentators linked on Tim Blair's blog, The LA Time's Elizabeth Sneed ( The Chandlers are doing 150 rpms in their graves) previously made a fool of her self when whe mistook the cracked open shotgun on the 1st Newsweek cover as a threat;( Palintology, get it's a dinosaur term, and she doesn't believe in them; ha ha) and the commenters let her have it with both barrels; metaphorically speaking. Yes, you're right, vitality is the thing about Sarah, that is hard to quantify. It's why she drew so many crowds
to her; as if she was the lead candidate.
along with her message of prosperity, security, energy independence. It seems even Begich is following her lead for the time being. It is rooted in her family and her faith, which keeps her grounded, when others wilt in the spotlight; re the sheepish Republican governors last week. It is wholesome, girl next door, unlike Dave's more unsavory implications, and some of the
outright bizarre impressions of the last campaign; Gary Kamiya's 'dominatrix, Erica
Jong's incipient riots, Naomi Wolf's true walk out to "where the trains don't run"

[Thomas Jackson]

I'm not impressed. What will impress me is Obama not taking defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq. It will impress me if he doesn't reduce the US nuclear arsenal or cut defense spending.

I could care if the every member of the JCS were enlisted as his staff if he follows his promises to disarm the US military.

The guy who offers advice is no better than my mother in law whispering in my ear about what is the best power saw to buy.

[peter jackson]

Ah, Chris Bowers tears of frustration are like delicious candy on my tongue. Thanks for that sweet, sweet link.

[Daedalus]

Lets see........Is this the Obama administration, the third term of the Clinton administration, or is this the stealth administration of John McCain.........just not certain with all the picks that "O" is making.

[JM Hanes]

I sure hope its Jones, because if it's Zinni, per Salon's list, the world is in real trouble.

[Elliott]

Daedalus,

If you can't see your way through this labyrinth, what hope is there for the rest of us?

[Mwalimu Daudi]

All of the hooplah over Jones's possible appointment misses one disconcerting fact - the Messiah is still the President. And the Messiah is a Grade-A moron who thinks Janet Napolitano is a swell choice for Homeland Security.

Don't underestimate the ability of the Lightworker-in-Chief to make a fool of Himself - and anyone dumb enough to work in His administration.

[Soylent Red]

Man...that narcisolator makes all the difference in the world.

[RichatUF]

JM Hanes-

I'm looking around the net to see if Gen. Jones might have been a lower ranking staffer when the US picked up the Oslo Accords (one would think that failure would have tossed in the trash after seeing the cheering crowds in the West Bank on 911). Makes some since he might be because Emmanual was also a big believer in the process and might have seen him work. Can't really say much though, his tenure at NATO from 2003-2006 saw Europe weasle out of their committments in Afghanistan and a French push for greater EU interference in European and NATO defense policy. He seems to have agreed with Rumsfeld though regarding US defense posture in Europe and pushed to have US forces moved East and into SW Asia. A curious pick (and I'm thankful that Susan Rice didn't get the slot and worried where he's going to put her).

[bad]

Rich, Susan Rice, shadow government

[Jane]

Susan Rice scares the shit out of me.

[MayBee]

Susan Rice scares the shit out of me.

I think Susan Rice must come in the Soros President Creator Kit™. She was on Kerry's team too.

[Cecil Turner]

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! Whinging we can believe in at Open Left.

Heh. This bit is priceless:

At least two of them, Gates and Napolitano, opposed withdrawing troops as recently as 2007 (although the new agreement with Iraq has rendered that debate moot).

The "new agreement," eh? Winning the war was just window-dressing, I'm sure (and whatever we do, let's not admit it happened).

On the main event, I don't know Jones at all (despite his being Commandant when I retired), and his career pattern appears a bit more political than I'd like. Still, I have a hard time believing we (i.e., hawkish conservatives) could do much better at NSC under an Obama administration. (I admit pro-jarhead bias, however.)

[bgates]

I don't quite know how to take that, does it work like Babelfish?
Sort of, and I really didn't mean offense. Your comments are just much easier to read without the extra line breaks.

Winning the war was just window-dressing, I'm sure (and whatever we do, let's not admit it happened).
Admit it? We're celebrating it.

[Soylent Red]

Still, I have a hard time believing we (i.e., hawkish conservatives) could do much better at NSC under an Obama administration. (I admit pro-jarhead bias, however.)

Cecil:

I obviously have no jarhead bias and I am feeling optimistic about this pick. USMC seems to be the least politically inclined of the branches, and I have never met a marine field grade or above who was not at an 80% or better common sense factor.

Having said that, Obama is still gonna be the boss.

[Cecil Turner]

I have never met a marine field grade or above who was not at an 80% or better common sense factor.

I've met more of the subject group, apparently. But I agree it's not a place where impractical types tend to prosper. And I think your bottom line is in fact the bottom line.

[JM Hanes]

Cecil:

As a layman, I'm feeling pretty good on the international front myself. Hillary can be pretty hard nosed about American interests (while simultaneously telling folks abroad what they want to hear), and taking her out of the universal healthcare arena domestically is a plus. Jones as NSA, and (hopefully) Gates staying on at Defense are about as good as any appointments McCain might have made, don't you think? Not a bad place for mentor/father figure types! I'd be interested in hearing what the Jones/Petraeus chemistry looks like though. Afghanistan is a real NATO testing ground, and the results so far are discouraging.

I'm not overjoyed by the idea of Holder at DoJ, but at this point I'm most concerned about who gets the education slot.

[JM Hanes]

Not to ignore the looming disaster that Daschle at HHS represents should his rumored appointment come to pass!

[Caro]

bgates,

Thanks for that. I love Narciso posts but had to do the line breaks in my head. I had installed Greasemonkey but didn't know how to make it work and now it does! For trolls too, I guess.

[Cecil Turner]

Jones as NSA, and (hopefully) Gates staying on at Defense are about as good as any appointments McCain might have made, don't you think?

I'm no fan of Gates (and I don't support intel types running OSD, as they are generally clueless and impractical about actual military operations). Still, there is something to be said for continuity, and he appears to be growing into the job. Dunno if Jones is the best choice for NSC, either, but in both cases it's far better than I expected from Obama.

And on the political side (Hillary), I'm not truly worried that they will intentionally torpedo US national interests, but that they will ride their wrong-headed approach to national security into a losing war (as Post-FDR Democrats are wont to do).

[bgates]

I'm not overjoyed by the idea of Holder at DoJ
I hope Obama screws up and sends the foreign policy and Treasury nominees through first. He probably won't.

I'd like to see the Republicans get a chance to say, "see how bipartisan we're being? We approved his picks for State, and Treasury, and NSA." That gives us some credibility with Muddle types to say Justice, HHS, and (probably) Education are too left.

Probably instead he'll start with the First Ever Black Attorney General in History, First Ever HHS Sec from South Dakota, and some Ayers puppet for Ed, get them approved by better than party-line votes, and then he gets the storyline of, "bitter-ender conservatives have been beaten into submission, and are unable to offer resistance to Obama's genius picks for State, NSA, etc."

[bgates]

Iraq Warns Against Early US Pullout.

Which is weird, because I thought they were united in loathing us.

This must be one of those guys in the puppet occupation government, not one of the brave patriots who had such kind words for Obama.

[matt]

So far, national security gives me more warm and fuzzies about the course they will take. Iraq can now be admitted to have been a success, and resources can be shifted more towards Afghanistan, Somalia, etc. O may even keep Gates around for a while.

Daschle and Holder concern me; especially Daschle. He's a known scumbucket. Geithner's possible appointment obviously has had an effect on Wall Street.So far, Obama's batting a respectable .400 - .500 at least.

I'm much more worried now about the loons in Congress. Giving free reign to some of these dingbats is scary.

We will see closer to January 20 what surprises Obama has for us, but so far, I am still willing to listen. It's not the unmitigated disaster we have been afraid of (yet). We can disagree honestly and respectfully.

[hit and run]

matt:
So far, Obama's batting a respectable .400 - .500 at least.

Perhaps a baseball metaphor isn't apt here, .400 is phenomenal and .500 is unheard of.

Though, of course, .400 - .500 is more than respectable for what we may have predicted for Obama.

So maybe...

Obama is hitting free throws at a respectable-for-Shaq clip...

Just throwing out ideas.

[matt]

good point, hit....or maybe he kicked a field goal after a 90 yard drive or something...it's not as bad as we had feared, so far....

[JM Hanes]

How about he hasn't actually screwed the landing before the take-off? Maybe the fact that he can't afford to be seen with most of his old friends is not such a bad thing after all.

[JM Hanes]

"Still, there is something to be said for continuity, and he appears to be growing into the job."

He did make me a little nervous at the beginning. Looking back, I wonder if perhaps he saw the political wisdom of establishing himself as his own man, not just window dressing on a Bush/Rumsfeld DoD -- maybe even made being given the maneuvering room to do it a condition of accepting the post. He has undercut the Prez from time to time, but he does seem to be in relatively tranquil/effective control of his department, don't you think?

[bgates]

Obama is hitting free throws at a respectable-for-Shaq clip...
Oh, sure. The white Presidents get the baseball metaphors, but for the black President it has to be basketball. Where - surprise! - the standards are higher.

[Angie Smith]

I can go along with Jones as National Security Advisor since he doesn't appear to be a "yes" man. I'm glad Wes Clark wasn't chosen--I wouldn't trust anyone who is on the board of George Soros' International Crisis Group and his band of illuminatis, but my concerns are about Daschle. I thought when he wasn't re-elected I had heard the last of that moron!