Forging ahead with plans to build a missile defense shield, President Bush has tapped a staunch supporter of this administration priority for his new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Bush was to announce Friday that he will nominate Air Force Gen. Richard Myers as Joint Chiefs chairman after meeting with Myers and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld for an update on continuing efforts to overhaul the nation's military. The president scheduled a morning news conference at the community center in this rural town close to his ranch, where he has been vacationing all month.
The announcement comes as Bush says he's on the verge of withdrawing the United States from the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty.
``I have no specific timetable in mind,'' Bush said Thursday. ``We will withdraw from the ABM treaty on our timetable, at a time convenient to America.'' Bush's commitment to missile defense was a factor in his deliberations on a nominee to replace the retiring chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Army Gen. Henry H. Shelton, who steps down Sept. 30.
``We've been looking for someone who will bring the highest standards of excellence to the office, someone who is willing to think differently about the missions of our military. ... The fundamental question is how do we conform our defense to the true threats that face America not only now but in the out-years,'' Bush said.
Bush was close-mouthed with reporters Thursday when asked whether Myers was indeed his choice for Joint Chiefs chairman. But Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said an Air Force contact told him that Myers had been selected.
``It's far enough along we can call it official,'' Inhofe said in an interview. He said Myers' strong support of missile defense enhanced Myers' chances.
``I wanted to be sure we got someone who understands we're under a very great stress today because we have no defense system,'' Inhofe said. ``I can't think of anyone who is going to be harder for it than Richard Myers.''
Inhofe said Myers' extensive background in Asian affairs, as a former commander of Pacific Air Forces and earlier as commander of U.S. forces in Japan, is also an asset.
``This leads me to believe that he understands that China is probably our greatest next threat. I believe that to be true, and he knows more about China and Asia than probably anyone else who would have been chosen,'' Inhofe said.
The Myers appointment comes as the Bush administration is stepping up its bid to develop a missile defense system, and possibly unilaterally withdraw from the missile treaty in order not to violate it.
Bush has committed to working with Russia to set aside the treaty, saying it ``hampers us from doing what we need to do.'' But he said he is not setting a deadline for a new accord with Russia, despite suggestions to the contrary by a State Department official.
The selection of Myers, former commander in chief of the U.S. Space Command, would also reflect Bush's desire to emphasize newer technologies in the military, the importance of space and computers in warfare and emerging threats around the globe.
A native of Kansas City, Mo., Myers is a fighter pilot by training. He entered the Air Force in 1965 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Kansas State University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. He also holds a master's degree in business administration from Auburn University.
He has been vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs since March 2000.
Bureau Report