Clinton's Warrior Woes
Can a man who avoided the draft ever prove himself as America's commander in chief?
Yet critics argue that Clinton has a long way to go in building bridges to the armed forces. "If I were he, I would have one person around me who has ties to the military," says Senator McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam. "As far as I know, he has none." Actually, several key Clinton advisers do have limited military experience, including Vice President Al Gore. But, unlike Ronald Reagan and George Bush, the president has no career soldiers or retired officers in his inner circle. McCain suggests that Clinton make more visible use of Adm. William Crowe, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or other former officers who endorsed Clinton during the campaign, perhaps by naming one as special military adviser. "That would give a lot of comfort to the military," McCain says. "Right now there is the perception that no one is speaking to them."
Cutting back. Clinton defenders say the military may be exaggerating its concerns because it fears for its future. After 12 years when Reagan and Bush treated the Pentagon as a favored child and the military ascended to a position of great honor in society, times are changing. This week, the Defense Department is scheduled to announce the names of bases it is being forced to close because of previously announced cutbacks. Among the likely targets: the Army's Fort McClellan in Alabama and the Presidio in Monterey, Calif.; naval facilities in Alameda, Calif., and Charleston, S.C., and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Clinton advisers admit that the basic problem may be his party'slack of experience with all things military after being out ofpower for 12 years. "The culture of the Democrats is notdisrespectful, it's unknowing," says a senior defense official."This is not a case of defense Democrats vs. liberal Democrats,but of Democrats without experience in this profession who arelearning about it."
WHO KNOWS THE MILITARY? Many of Clinton's national security advisers have limitedmilitary experience--or none:
Military Experience (top rank) Les Aspin, Army captain, systems analyst, 1966-68 defense secretary
Warren Christopher, Navy lieutenant, World War II, 1943-46 secretary of state
Anthony Lake, No experience in uniform national security adviser
Sandy Berger, No experience in uniform deputy national security adviser
James Woolsey, Army captain, Pentagon planner, 1968-70 director of central intelligence
Madeleine Albright, No experience in uniform United Nations ambassador
Leon Panetta, Army captain, legal counsel, 1964-66 budget director
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