Barack Obama has just selected retired General Eric Shinseki to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, an organization with quite a lot on its plate at this time.
Shinseki is most well-known for clashing with Rumsfeld over the number of troops that would be required to secure the peace in a post-war Iraq. The following is from his address to the Senate Armed Services Committee:
SEN. LEVIN: General Shinseki, could you give us some idea as to the magnitude of the Army's force requirement for an occupation of Iraq following a successful completion of the war?
GEN. SHINSEKI: In specific numbers, I would have to rely on combatant commanders' exact requirements. But I think --
SEN. LEVIN: How about a range?
GEN. SHINSEKI: I would say that what's been mobilized to this point -- something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably, you know, a figure that would be required. We're talking about posthostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so it takes a significant ground-force presence.
Paul Wolfowitz called this assertion "wildly off the mark", and Rumfeld quietly forced the General from involvement in the Iraq war, eventually precipitating his retirement.
It is now generally accepted by Military officials that Shinseki was right.
Props to Obama for this not-so-subtle nod to Shinseki's Vindication. Let's hope he can do some much-needed good for Veterans.
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