[War] US: The inevitable arrives

[pentaj2 at Scranton.edu]

"The inevitable arrives"
10 October 2006
Pres. John Williams
USA
=============
Williams sat behind the Resolute desk, looking at a wall. Opposite of 
where cameras would catch it was an unusual display.

The photo of every soldier who had died in the line of duty since he 
had become President.

Unusually, however, their names were not listed.

He looked at it for a while, before a knock could be heard on the door 
from the waiting room.

"Mr. President, Secretary Rumsfeld is here," announced Mrs. Rosen.

"Send him in."

Then, Donald Rumsfeld walks in.

"Don, thanks for coming by. Before we begin...Look at that wall," 
Williams asked. "And tell me. Who are those?"

"Soldiers that have died in Iraq, sir?"

"An incomplete answer, Mr. Rumsfeld. I want to hear their names, their 
ranks, their hometowns."

"I...I couldn't tell you, Mr. President."

"I can. From the top left: Staff Sergeant Jose Rodriguez, Los Angeles 
California, 23 years old, killed by an IED in Al Anbar 23 July; Lance 
Corporal Matthew Roberts of Gurnee, Illiniois, 20 years old, killed by 
a sniper in Baghdad 26 July..."

And so it went on, as Williams got up and moved to stand beside 
Rumsfeld, still reading off the details of every Soldier, Sailor, 
Airman, and Marine pictured on that wall.

"...Captain Brian Walker, San Francisco California, 29 years old, 
killed by a sniper in Al Anbar 7 October." He finished, then turned to 
Rumsfeld.

"Mr. Rumsfeld, we need to make changes."

"I suppose that could happen."

Williams's eyebrows raised.

"You suppose?" He paused. "Mr. Rumsfeld, allow me to be blunt.

"We've clashed. While I was in Congress, since I became President, 
we've clashed. To me, that is annoying, but it is not enough to ask 
for your resignation. However...Mr. Rumsfeld, I respect your 
experience. You have damn good ideas. As a peacetime SECDEF, as you 
were originally appointed, you could do a lot of good.

"But I do not believe that you are what America looks for in a 
Secretary of Defense in wartime. Efficency is fine, but you took 
efficency too far. You botched Iraq, sir. We preach for jointness 
among the services, yet under your leadership, the concept of 
jointness between DOD and the rest of the government has becmome a 
dream. Frankly, sir...If Al Qaeda had not attacked on September 11th, 
you would in my opinion be an excellent SECDEF. I might disagree 
fairly often, but you would be damn good.

"However, we were not that lucky. They did.

"And I have become convinced that you are not what I need in a 
Secretary of Defense, sir. I thank you for your service, but I must 
ask for your resignation."

Rumsfeld looks pale at that.

"You have committed no malfeasance, sir. You served honorably. There 
is much you can be proud of. But you've stepped on every pair of toes 
in Washington, including most of the officer corps, and in the 
position I'm in, you excite too much controversy and have too many 
enemies to do anything but draw fire towards me," Williams reassured.

"I understand. Thank you for the compliments, sir. How...How will this 
be happening?"

"I will announce your resignation before DOD begins the FY08 budget 
round. We'll both be there. I'll be honest and say that we *have* 
clashed. That I felt that, given how much time I have to get things 
done, it would be better if you stepped aside now, and I appointed a 
SECDEF who was a better fit. I'm going to need you to stay on until 
your successor is confirmed; I plan on making the announcement after 
the elections, as several of the people on my shortlist are up for re-
election this year, and getting them confirmed in December."

"Yes, sir."

A long pause, then Williams speaks. "I'm sorry your career has to end 
like this. You've given a lot for this country, and you don't deserve 
a lot of what's fired your way. But the truth is, I'm a new President, 
a young President, and a President who can't afford a Cabinet officer 
who is seemingly trusted by nobody."

"Yes sir."

"Any idea what you're going to be doing?"

"Writing a book, probably."

"Write a few. You'd be good at that. Just..."

"What?"

"Don't write a tell-all, Don. Bury the hatchet, if you want my advice. 
You can forego the parting shots, and...I've never liked the score-
settling cycle that gets inspired by those things."

"You're always an optimist, aren't you? Always thinking you can get 
Washington to live up to the ideals everybody has of it."

That got a grin. "Yeah, I suppose."

Rumsfeld smiled. "It's good to have one of those in a position that 
matters every once in a while. We've needed it for a long time."

"How you feeling?"

"Immediately? Depressed. But, also...free. I probably held on too 
long."

"Eh, it happens. Enjoy your retirement, and make it a real retirement. 
Enjoy your grandkids, enjoy being an old man," POTUS replies with a 
smile.

"I'll try to."

"Now...We do have business to attend to..."
---
<later>

"Thanks for coming, everybody. After some weeks of thought, I asked 
Secretary Rumsfeld for his resignation today, and he gave it. He will 
remain until his successor is confirmed, in order to provide a smooth 
transition. Now, to sweep away the rumors: There is one reason for 
this, and one reason only. Bluntly put, the Cabinet cannot handle both 
of us at once. We have personalities that clash entirely too often. As 
such, while we tried to resolve our differences, we couldn't bridge 
the gaps sufficiently enough for our mutual satisfaction. As such, I 
decided that he had to resign, and he agreed."
---
Actions:
1. Don Rumsfeld resigns as SECDEF, but will stay on until his 
successor is confirmed.
2. Successor nominee will be announced 10 November.