Defense Officials Plan for Smooth Transition to New Administration - Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
The Defense Department has made extensive plans for a smooth transition from the present administration to that of the president-elect, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said here today.
Pentagon officials are ready to begin briefing a new president-elect's transition team as soon as he's chosen, Whitman said.
The transition between administrations comes when the United States is at war, the first time this has happened since 1969, when the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson transitioned to that of President Richard M. Nixon in the midst of the Vietnam War.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has launched early preparations to minimize disruptions as the administrations change, Whitman said. Gates has created a transition task force that will operate under five guiding principles:
-- Maintaining continuity of operations;
-- Assuring efficient and effective transition of outgoing leadership;
-- Assuring the efficient and effective in-processing of the incoming leaders;
-- Facilitating the transfer of information to the new administration; and
-- Sustaining focus on existing programs and processes while allowing the incoming administration to focus on its governing processes.
"One of the important components of this is ensuring that we've identified and highlighted some of the key department events, actions [and] milestones that a new administration will face in its first 90 days," Whitman said.
More at American Forces Press Service.
Petraeus: Commitment to War Effort Will Stand Firm, Regardless of Who Wins Presidency - Scott Heidler, FOX News
As Americans went to the polls Tuesday to chose the next president, Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said that whatever the outcome, the US will continue its commitment to battling Al Qaeda.
"Both candidates have been clear about the priority they place [on the war on terror]. So there is truly bipartisan support for [what] I think can be described as a sustained and substantial commitment to Pakistan and Afghanistan," Petraeus told FOX News.
More at FOX News.
David Petraeus Makes Pakistan a Priority - Bruce Loudon, The Australian
The US's preoccupation with Pakistan was strongly underlined last night as General David Petraeus, newly responsible for Washington's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, made Islamabad his first port of call, and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama signalled a change of policy if he wins tomorrow's election.
The security deterioration in the nuclear-armed nation was dramatically demonstrated shortly after General Petraeus's arrival, when jihadi militants staged a rocket attack on the airport in the city of Peshawar, capital of the al-Qa'ida and Taliban stronghold of North-West Frontier Province, which he was scheduled to visit yesterday.
More at The Australian.
New US President Should Keep Troops in Philippines - Associated Press
The next US president should keep American counterterrorism troops in the southern Philippines, where they have helped prevent the emergence of a key base for al-Qaida-linked militants, a military official said Tuesday.
The Philippine government expects no major changes in its close ties with Washington, whoever wins the US elections. But some Filipino analysts have speculated that a victory by Democrat Barack Obama could lead to a reduction or even a withdrawal of US troops from the southern Mindanao region, where the Philippine military has been battling a decades-long Islamist insurgency.
Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, who heads the 8,000-strong Philippine Marines at the front line of counterterrorism efforts in Mindanao, said militants linked to the Abu Sayyaf, which is blacklisted as a terrorist group by Washington, still pose a threat despite US-backed offensives that have crippled the militants and destroyed their strongholds.
More at The Associated Press.
US Troops on Front Lines of War Track Election - Denis Gray, Associated Press
US soldiers on the front lines tuned in Tuesday to CNN and the Internet to track the presidential election that will decide the future of their mission. But for many, the day was spent like so many others on patrols, repairing equipment and other mundane tasks of war.Troops in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan mailed in absentee ballots long ago—if they voted. So by the time election day arrived back home, there was nothing for them to do but await the results.
"We can't stop doing what we have to do. We got to keep running," said Maj. Gary Dangerfield of Chicago, spokesman for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based in the northern city of Mosul.
Before heading out on missions, some soldiers here at Camp Marez watched a giant television screen airing CNN's election reporting. Others followed the voting on the Web if they were on bases with Internet service.
More at The Associated Press.