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Waco Tribune Herald: As A&M; boss Gates adjusts to life as Secretary of Defense, Edwards' role becomes more pivotal Thursday, November 9, 2006

Thursday, November 09, 2006
By Dan Genz
Tribune-Herald staff writer

For Chet Edwards, sudden opportunity followed a mandate by voters Wednesday when President Bush picked a Central Texas ally to be the next U.S. secretary of defense.
Bush elevated former CIA chief and Texas A&M; University President Robert Gates to replace embattled Donald Rumsfeld, making Gates a new chief architect of the war in Iraq.

“I have observed him and spent time with him and am deeply impressed by his knowledge,” Edwards said of Gates. “And I think his level of experience in that job will be a very positive step forward.”

Coming the day after the Democratic Party won control of both houses of Congress for the first time in a dozen years partly by criticizing the war in Iraq, the Gates nomination could help make Edwards a liaison between both parties and, thus, a more influential member in Congress.

Because of the new post and Edwards’ strong support for the military, Edwards is one of the conservative Democrats who could use the challenge presented by a new period of divided government to work as a negotiator between the competing parties.

The Rumsfeld resignation, announced around noon at the White House, caught Edwards and much of the nation by surprise Wednesday as the nation began to assess what effect the Democrats’ victory in the House and the Senate would have on the country’s future.

Gates’ appointment came the same day Edwards announced a promotion of his own, noting he stands to become chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs when he returns to Congress for a ninth term.
Texas A&M; political science professor Harvey Tucker said Gates’ appointment will be an asset to Edwards at a time when the party takeover already stood to boost his status in Congress.

“In the carpentry sense, it dovetails nicely with his interests,” Tucker said. “He’s always been a major player in military affairs. . . . The fact that he has an individual from his district taking over as secretary of defense, that’s a positive for Chet Edwards.”

Because of Edwards’ strong support for the Iraq war, he is one of the more conservative Democrats who could effectively use the challenge presented by divided government.
Edwards took a step in that direction by saying he would work to convince fellow Democrats to welcome Gates to the Pentagon.

“I, for one, am willing to urge my Democratic colleagues in Congress to work with him and give him the respect he deserves and see if we can’t build the war on terrorism into a more bipartisan effort,” Edwards said.

He also pledged to endorse Gates to the generals he knows through his committee, 14 years representing Fort Hood and the House Army Caucus.

‘Help to build a bridge’

“I will talk to the Army leadership and certainly show my support and respect and trust in Dr. Gates and whatever small way I can help to build a bridge there; it is a vital bridge, especially at a time of war,” he said.

And after the war became a critical tool for his party’s gains of 28 seats in the House and six seats in the Senate, Edwards said he assumed there would be an impact, but he did not predict the Gates appointment.

“I would have never guessed that the first fallout of yesterday’s election would be the resignation of Secretary Rumsfeld, but I think it is a sign from the administration that it’s willing to be open-minded and to, hopefully, work on a bipartisan basis to find a solution to allow us to win in Iraq.

“Protecting America from terrorists should have never become a partisan issue, and as soon as we get back to dealing with it as a threat to our country, not a partisan weapon in campaigns, the better off we will be,” Edwards said.

But the Edwards element represents just one aspect of a decision that has enormous impact on the country and will take time to evaluate, Tucker and other experts said.

“President Gates of Texas A&M; has said early and often ‘I am an agent of change,’ and I expect he will be an agent of change as secretary of defense,” Tucker said, noting it could come slowly. “One of the analogies administrators of Texas A&M; say is, ‘We are a ship on an ocean traveling in a certain direction, and it takes time to make a shift.’ ”

After the election, fellow Texas A&M; professor James Burk, an expert in military sociology, said the appointment will bring about a new vision of how to wage the war.

“It’s clear that Congress and the president are going to have to examine anew how we should be proceeding in Iraq,” Burk said. “In the wake of this election, it would be extremely difficult for Secretary Rumsfeld to take part in the reform, because he is so closely identified with the problems.”

But Dave McIntyre, former Waco-area congressional candidate and dean of the National War College, said this is a much more significant decision than the political one attracting saturation coverage Wednesday.

“The concept driving our nation’s military thinking for the last 17 years and three administrations has come to an end without any apparent successor ideas,” said McIntyre, who also heads Texas A&M;’s homeland security programs. “This is the culmination of 17 years of thinking about war . . . that they can be waged quickly and cheaply and with a smaller force — that was clearly incorrect.”

Although it will take time to measure how Gates and Edwards address the challenges before them, Edwards already has begun to sketch out the priorities he will address in one of his new roles.

Waco VA still priority

Should Edwards become chairman of the veterans affairs subcommittee, he would oversee a $136 billion annual budget that includes funding for Fort Hood and the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital.

He said he would challenge cuts at Fort Hood and already has called on the Bush administration to announce that it would not close the Waco VA Hospital, dialing the office at 8:01 a.m. Wednesday.

“That was our first official congressional act this morning,” Edwards said. “I think we’re going to win the fight to keep open the Waco VA Hospital. That decision still is one to be made by the VA secretary, it’s not my decision, but I think the VA respects our communities working with them to provide win-win solutions.”

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