Is Def. Sec. Ashton Carter a NeoCon Tool? Is Michael S. Schimdt his "Judy Miller"?

[MADem]

1. I think the Clinton (non) story was a distraction that took away from CRITICAL coverage of Bibi.

If that story hadn't broken, we'd probably have seen more "Who the fuck does Bibi think he is?" and "Obama's not too pleased with either Bonehead or Bibi" stories.


And I think that Schmidt is the New Judy Miller, but he's taking orders from someone else--not anyone in DC. His orders come from those OUT of power in the Executive Branch, right now.

I don't think that the new SECDEF is working against the POTUS. In fact, it is unlikely in the extreme, unless he's recently developed a brain tumor.

He's not a warrior, he's a wonk. He's a career civil servant, too, not a politician. He doesn't want war without end. He doesn't have the budget for it. He's got to get through this downsizing without too much bloodshed and then work towards consolidating assets. His job, right now, is that of a quality butcher--lots of cutting and trimming.

Further, Ashton Carter was a Bill Clinton appointee, way back when. He's a Rhodes Scholar, an Ivy Leaguer, he's got "pointy headed liberal" (to mock Agnew) written all over him.

I don't think he is a neo-con, and I don't think he's a mole. He's been inside the beltway way too long, and Bill Clinton brought him in.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashton_Carter