Marc Ambinder has a very helpful piece about exchanging James Jones as National Security Adviser for Tom Donilon.
Full disclosure: I can't stand Bob Woodward and avoid reading him. Ambinder steps around Woodward (that's nice) and provides his own interesting take on the dynamics in the White House surrounding Jones' departure. For a start, Jones had already said he wanted to leave at the end of 2010. Obama saw that his new team -- particularly given the departure of Rahm Emanuel -- could fall into place earlier, perhaps, than expected.
As for Donilon, there's a lot to like, if Ambinder gets him right.
One, Donilon is a civilian policy wonk loyal to the President who has been involved in every facet of foreign policy since the beginning of the administration; two, he's a politically-savvy Democrat; and three, he's an adviser whom the President can count on standing up to and pushing back against the military, when necessary.
The story about Gates not liking Donilon is over-blown. Ambinder quotes someone at Defense:
"They did some have issues back during the Af-Pak review, but those issues have been addressed and long since overcome, and they have enjoyed a good working relationship now for many, many months..."
Joint Chiefs chairman Mike Mullen doesn't like Donilon because he allegedly "butts into what were purely defense issues." Hey, Mike, there ain't such a thing in America as a "purely defense issue" into which civilians and National Security advisers "butt." On the contrary, pal, we own your military butt.
Donilon and Hillary get along. That's a plus.
Another even bigger plus is that Donilon and Obama agree the pull-out from Afghanistan is too slow. That's excellent! Donilon is also the man to go to about Iran and is "active in working the administration's complex military and economic relationships with Asian countries."
Bottom line.
"Donilon is viewed as uber-competent, a guy who knows how to work the bureaucracy to get things done. But he is not going to be a big thinker for Obama -- the President will have to turn elsewhere if he wants that," an adviser to the State Department said.
