Tom Donilon has replaced James Jones as national security adviser, an appointment that could set up "one of the greatest civilian-military showdowns in decades," says Peter Beinart at The Daily Beast. That's because Jones' former deputy shares President Obama's deep reservations about an extended U.S. presence in Afghanistan — and isn't likely to keep quiet about it. And unlike his predecessor, Donilon is willing to fight the Pentagon's plans for a long, "full-on counterinsurgency" mission in Afghanistan. Here, an excerpt from Beinart's piece:
From the military’s perspective, Donilon is worse than a mere civilian; he's a politico. He was a party operative before he was a foreign policy wonk, which is one reason he worked so well with Rahm Emanuel, the man who pushed Jones to hire him as his deputy. At the White House, Donilon’s political savvy was considered an asset. But within the military, his prominence was seen as evidence that the White House subordinated national security to crass political concerns.
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