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Who's in charge here? Spoiling for a FightBy Rick Horowitz
WASHINGTON, VERY SOON -- Fresh from toppling the regime of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, U.S. military forces today launched a full-scale attack on another bothersome foe somewhat closer to home: the U.S. State Department. Moving primarily by land and air, and with occasional battleship thrusts up the Potomac, troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines left staging areas in the Pentagon's north parking lot early this morning and mounted a series of strikes designed to weaken, and ultimately overthrow, Secretary of State Colin Powell and his inner circle. "Frankly, we were tired of all the carping," said a senior Defense Department official who asked not to be identified. "We couldn't make a move without getting criticized, and the big guy finally said, 'Enough.'" The official was apparently referring to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, whose frequent disagreements with Secretary Powell on matters of policy, practice and personnel have become the stuff of legend in this most political of cities. Among their recent clashes: arguing over the speed and direction of efforts to rebuild Iraq, over the role of the United Nations in Iraq and elsewhere, over the "road map" to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and even over how tough a line to take with a nuclear-capable North Korea. Still, few expected that Mr. Rumsfeld and his allies would resort to force to settle these differences, and the sight of Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles rolling up Virginia Avenue this morning was a shock to many commuters. "It's not like we don't have enough traffic around here already," complained one Arlington, Va., resident whose Washington office is just blocks from the State Department. "They couldn't wait till the weekend?" According to administration sources, Mr. Rumsfeld personally selected the weekday starting time for the attack, hoping both to utilize the element of surprise and to ensure that the maximum number of enemy forces would be neutralized. "If you take the building but you don't grab up the top guys," said a Pentagon official familiar with Mr. Rumsfeld's thinking, "they're still out there making trouble for you. We didn't want any more trouble." Early reports indicated steady progress on several fronts in the Pentagon's race to Foggy Bottom, with well-equipped soldiers and Marines meeting only sporadic resistance from State Department personnel, some of whom tried to stem the tide by dropping briefing papers and memoranda on approaching troops. "We've seen that kind of stuff before," said one field commander during a refueling stop. "It has absolutely no effect on us." At the White House, meanwhile, press secretary Ari Fleischer tried once again to play down any hint of conflict between two of President Bush's most prominent, and savviest, advisers. "The president continues to have full confidence in both Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Powell. He thinks they're both doing a great job, and he's sure that whatever minor disagreements they might have over this or that issue will be swiftly resolved." Pentagon officials were quick to note that Mr. Fleischer's expression of presidential confidence had mentioned Mr. Rumsfeld first. For their part, supporters of the secretary of state claimed that Mr. Fleischer's body language was far more positive -- "He was really speaking from the heart," said one -- when he spoke Mr. Powell's name. But Mr. Rumsfeld's supporters remained unconvinced, and argued that the president's own recent actions had made it clear that he was firmly in their camp. "When he played dress-up on that carrier," one Pentagon official asked rhetorically, "did he dress up as a diplomat, or did he dress up as a pilot?" Posted 5/8/03. You're
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Rick Horowitz
