Gen. Shinseki Eyed for Obama's Veterans Affairs Secretary:
[John K. Matyi] I personally don't know much about this man but at least he is choosing someone who may have the best interests of the military (and of course veterans) at heart. He certainly could have picked someone (Max Cleeland for one) who would have been a lot worse. One way we will know if this is a good choice; when the far left liberals let the press know how unhappy they are. I certainly hope there are some active duty or military veterans who can give us some personal history on this man.
Shinseki is the former Army chief of staff who upset his civilian bosses in 2003 when he testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the U.S. invasion
FoxNews.com President-elect Barack Obama will name his pick for secretary of veterans affairs at a Pearl Harbor event in Chicago on Sunday, and FOX News confirms that retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki is Obama's choice.
Shinseki is the former Army chief of staff who upset his civilian bosses in 2003 when he testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the U.S. invasion. He was forced out of his job within months for being "wildly off the mark." But his words proved prophetic after President Bush in early 2007 announced a "surge" of additional troops to Iraq after miscalculating.
Earlier Saturday, it was clear that some of the people rumored to have been leading contenders for the veterans affairs job were no longer in the running, Democratic sources told FOX News. Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, and former Georgia Senator Max Cleeland, had been front runners.
Word spread rapidly through the veterans community and Shinseki's nomination generated enormous enthusiasm.
Shinseski is viewed by many — though not all — in the veterans community as a courageous figure who sought to protect front-line troops by recommending at least 300,000 forces for the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.
Categories: Department of Veterans Affairs, Democrats
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