Singlecoil
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- Jul 26, 2002
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(3/17/03) Washington, D. C. – Donald Rumsfeld announced today that the Department of Defense has been renamed the War Department by executive order of President Bush. In 1946, the United States Congress changed the name of the War Department to the Department of Defense to reflect the containment strategies of the post World War II Truman Doctrine. “It was a different world in 1946,” Rumsfeld stated, “I think now Americans realize that a mistake was made by signaling to our enemies that we lacked initiative.” He added, “To always assume a defensive posture is to drastically limit our options in the post-9/11 environment.” Rumsfeld’s title was also changed to reflect the shift in strategy to Secretary of War. “At first I thought we should firm that up a bit,” Rumsfeld quipped with reporters, “Secretary sounded like a title for a Hilary Clinton type.” Further adding, to the howl of the Pentagon press corps, “I mean would you rather be led to war by a secretary, or a czar or something like that? But in the end, I agreed with conserving the tradition of the Department, so I will become the first Secretary of War since Henry Stimson.”
Under the new designation, Paul Wolfowitz, the former Deputy Secretary of Defense, will assume the new title of Director of Strategic Initiative, tasked with identifying new sources of concern and allocating War Department resources. When asked about the new position in the Department, Secretary Rumsfeld responded, “Mr. Wolfowitz has proven himself to be a capable and persuasive voice of direction in our Department. This new title will afford him the authority to act on his greatest strength, which is the ability to identify our enemies sooner than anyone else in the Administration. His proven zeal in dealing with our enemies, both foreign and domestic, is being rewarded with this greater authority. He will still report to me, but has been given greater autonomy by this executive order.” When asked if the Director of Strategic Initiative would have the authority to order military operations, Secretary Rumsfeld commented, “That is a more of a targeting or command and control type question you’re getting into there, and that is not the type of information we provide during times of war. The War on Terror continues today, it will continue tomorrow, and it will continue in the future.”
Under the new designation, Paul Wolfowitz, the former Deputy Secretary of Defense, will assume the new title of Director of Strategic Initiative, tasked with identifying new sources of concern and allocating War Department resources. When asked about the new position in the Department, Secretary Rumsfeld responded, “Mr. Wolfowitz has proven himself to be a capable and persuasive voice of direction in our Department. This new title will afford him the authority to act on his greatest strength, which is the ability to identify our enemies sooner than anyone else in the Administration. His proven zeal in dealing with our enemies, both foreign and domestic, is being rewarded with this greater authority. He will still report to me, but has been given greater autonomy by this executive order.” When asked if the Director of Strategic Initiative would have the authority to order military operations, Secretary Rumsfeld commented, “That is a more of a targeting or command and control type question you’re getting into there, and that is not the type of information we provide during times of war. The War on Terror continues today, it will continue tomorrow, and it will continue in the future.”