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Franks will stay in charge of war
By PAUL DE LA GARZA, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the Tampa-based commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, has agreed to a request by President Bush to stay on the job until next year, White House and Pentagon officials said Monday. Franks, 56, who took over the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base almost two years ago, had been scheduled to step down in July. A regional commander-in-chief, or CINC, typically serves a two-year stint. "The president believes that Gen. Franks has done a terrific job and is pleased that the general will continue his service to the country in the fight against terrorism," said White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo. Franks' extended assignment will expire in July 2003. The Pentagon could offer the general another posting after that -- in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for example -- but it is widely believed he will then retire. The extension was agreed on late last year, according to Adm. Craig Quigley, the chief Central Command spokesman. President Bush made the move in response to a recommendation from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, he said. Congressional and Pentagon officials familiar with the executive order say it's not unusual for the president to extend a CINC's command. The officials say Franks agreed to Bush's request out of a sense of duty. Military observers also note that it would have been awkward for Bush to sideline Franks while he is directing the most visible part of the war on terror. For Franks, the past six months haven't been easy. In the beginning of the war, critics charged him with running a lackadaisical campaign in Afghanistan, allowing the enemy, including senior al-Qaida officials, to escape. Shortly after the air war got under way Oct. 7, Franks reportedly stood on shaky ground with Rumsfeld. According to published reports, the defense secretary was unimpressed with a military strategy he saw as unimaginative. Reports suggested Franks was on the way out. But within weeks, using a combination of air power, U.S. special operations forces and anti-Taliban rebels in Afghanistan, the war took a dramatic turn, with territory falling like dominoes. Today, Rumsfeld has nothing but praise for Franks. Typical of his assessments was this quote a few months ago: "Gen. Franks is both a warrior but also a wise and inspiring commander." As commander-in-chief of the Central Command, Franks is responsible for overseeing U.S. military operations in one of the most tumultuous regions of the world, which stretches from Egypt to Turkmenistan. Born in Wynnewood, Okla., and raised in Midland, Texas, Bush's hometown, Franks won his commission in 1967 as a graduate of the Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Okla. He served in Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. Wounded three times, he has earned three Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars. Previously, Franks and his wife, Cathy, have joked about his retirement plans. She has said that when she first met him 35 years ago, he led her to believe that he would be serving in the military for only a couple of years. In December, Franks told the Times in an interview: "I am still going to get out of the Army. I have promised this to my wife and I'm going to do it. Beats the hell out of me when it'll happen.". He added, "I'm not in a real big hurry right now, by the way."
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
