W/R/T Vickers' Irregular Warfare office — that looked like a shoo-in when originally staffed 3-4 weeks ago. More recently it has picked up significant senior-level opposition within the Building. If for no other reason, it's inherently inconsistent with what SECDEF is now advocating about streamlining headquarters, reducing layers and reduncancy, etc.
Morning Defense (Politico.com)
June 22, 2010
Vickers To Replace Clapper
By Gordon Lubold
If Clapper is confirmed as the new DNI, Gates is expected to nominate Michael Vickers, currently the assistant secretary of defense for
special operations/low-intensity conflict and interdependent capabilities, to replace Clapper as under secretary of defense for
intelligence, POLITICO has learned. Vickers, the top civilian overseer of special operations forces, is best known outside the Pentagon for his portrayal in “Charlie Wilson's War” as a national security wunderkind. Sources tell POLITICO that Vickers would be Gates' favorite to replace Clapper, assuming Clapper's nom goes through.
A NEW OFFICE ON IRREGULAR WARFARE? – Vickers is proposing a new “Irregular Warfare Office” – IWO for short, POLITICO has also learned. The focus of the new office would be to “identify, accelerate and monitor the implementation of the Department's top priority IW
initiatives,” according to a memo Vickers wrote in May that was obtained by POLITICO.
