Rumsfeld may select army chief

[Khephra]

In a surprising move, Francis Harvey, a former Westinghouse Electric executive, has emerged as a leading candidate to be the new secretary of the army.
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The army job has been filled by an interim appointee for more than a year, and most defense officials figured it would stay that way until the next administration was sworn in next year. But in a move that reflects Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s desire to have stronger army leadership in the midst of the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal and strains on army forces worldwide, the Pentagon is looking to tap Harvey for the army job. Harvey, an engineer who is a former chief operating officer for Westinghouse, was nominated earlier this year to be assistant secretary of defense for network integration, which oversees the Pentagon’s vast military and communications systems.
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Harvey’s nomination cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee. But along with dozens of other nominations, it has been held up for final Senate approval because of a fight between the Defense Department and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, over an ill-fated proposal for the air force to lease refueling planes from the Boeing Company.
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The Pentagon’s plan now would be to renominate Harvey for the top army job, then bank on the fact that he has already undergone a security background check and a Senate hearing to squeeze him through the narrow window remaining on the Senate calendar this election year.

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