Word: aspin
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...involved in places like Bosnia, he is supervising NATO planning for air strikes there and, a former aide says, "is not quite so reluctant to use force" -- a hawkishness that separates him from the more conservative Powell. While he meets the President's first requirement -- what Defense Secretary Les Aspin described as "somebody who can run military operations" -- the general is virtually unknown to the public and untutored in the ways of Congress and public relations. That could prove doubly attractive if it makes him more compliant than his predecessor...
...Shalikashvili's nomination, a Marine Corps blunder handed Clinton another chance to show who's boss. In an effort to reduce the number of failed marriages that collapse under the rigors of Marine life, General Carl Mundy, the commandant, announced -- without consulting Aspin -- that the corps would refuse to accept married recruits as of Sept. 30, 1995. The political equivalent of a fragmentation grenade, Mundy's directive would have created a paradoxical situation in which the Marines would accept gay recruits -- as long as they kept mum about their sexual orientation -- but not married heterosexuals. "If they are not allowed...
Clinton and Aspin immediately jumped in to rescind the order, which they had never approved. Any new policies on the matter, Aspin flatly stated, would be submitted to him for review. The next day, Mundy, who had been outspoken in opposition to accepting gays in the service, performed his act of contrition at a press conference. He acknowledged "blind-siding" the President. "I just kicked this one in the grandstand," he said. "I did not adequately inform my civilian superiors of the policy." While many military experts sympathized with Mundy's concern for the impact of marriage troubles...
...hopes of warming the relationship further, Aspin argued that his boss actually has much in common with the mainstream military -- a lot of Baptist, small-town Southern boys. Administration sources also confirmed that over the next five years Clinton may be prepared to spend up to $20 billion more on defense than he originally promised. With Les able to offer more, Clinton might finally take real command at the Pentagon...
...Aspin quashes his plan to make the Marines a singles club...