President Bush's War Council

By SARA FRITZ and PAUL DE LA GARZA

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 19, 2001

Vice President Dick Cheney

President Bush chose Cheney for two reasons -- he was experienced in the ways of Washington and his background included a strong grasp of national defense issues. Bush's own resume was weak on these two points. Cheney's earlier jobs in Washington included White House chief of staff under President Ford and secretary of defense under Bush's father. As a former five-term member of Congress from Wyoming, Cheney, 60, also has the confidence of former colleagues on Capitol Hill. Before he joined the Bush ticket last year, he was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Co. His manner is that of a corporate executive, not a politician.

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice

Although younger than the other members of Bush's war council, Rice, 46, is said to have Bush's fullest confidence and more access to the president than Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. A former administrator at Stanford University, Rice served as a key member of the national security staff when Bush's father was president. Her mentor was Brent Scowcroft, who also served the first President Bush. Early in her career, Rice specialized in Soviet and Eastern European affairs. She is known to be highly disciplined and very bright.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell

By training, Powell, 64, is a warrior, not a diplomat. He rose through the ranks of the Army to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 1989 and served in that post during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He retired in 1994, and then declined an opportunity to run for president himself. Powell's military background means Bush does not have to contend with the usual differences between the secretaries of state and defense, who agree more than they disagree. Powell have a great deal of experience in advising presidents, and his popularity among Americans is seen as an asset to the administration as it faces controversial decisions.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

This is Rumsfeld's second stint at the helm of the Pentagon. He also served as secretary of defense during the Ford administration. At 69, he combines experience in politics, business, diplomacy and the military. In 1962, after serving as a naval aviator, he was elected to Congress from Illinois. In 1969, he resigned to serve in the Nixon administration as, among other things, counselor to the president. In 1973, he was appointed U.S. ambassador to NATO. He has been chief executive officer, president and chairman of G.D. Searle & Co., a worldwide pharmaceutical company; chairman and chief executive of General Instrument Corp., which pioneered the development of the first all-digital high definition television technology, and chairman of Gilead Sciences Inc.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz

On his third tour of duty at the Pentagon, Wolfowitz, 57, previously was dean and professor of international relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University. From 1989 to 1993, under then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, Wolfowitz served as under secretary of defense for policy. In that post, he and his staff played a major role in reviewing war plans for the Gulf War. During the Reagan administration, Wolfowitz served for three years as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, the fourth-largest country in the world and the largest in the Muslim world. During an earlier Pentagon tour, Wolfowitz helped create the force that later became the U.S. Central Command, responsible for Middle East security and based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Henry H. Shelton

Since October 1997, Gen. Shelton has held the nation's top military position. He was reconfirmed by the Senate for a second two-year term in 1999. In this capacity, he serves as the principal military adviser to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council. Before becoming chairman, he served as commander-in-chief of the Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry in 1963 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps, Shelton has served in a variety of command and staff positions in the continental United States, Hawaii and Vietnam. His tenure ends at the end of the month.

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