Secdef: The Nearly Impossible Job of Secretary of Defense - Hardcover

Stevenson, Charles A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1574887947 ISBN 13: 9781574887945

Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc., 2006

Synopsis

SECDEF offers an expert’s insights into one of the most difficult jobs in Washington. Of the twenty-one men who have held the post of secretary of defense since it was created in 1947, only half served more than eighteen months. The first, James Forrestal, committed suicide soon after leaving the Pentagon. Seven of his successors were fired or allowed to resign gracefully after losing the confidence of the president. Many left frustrated and disappointed, while few retained the celebrity and esteem they held while in office. One observer has called the job “the graveyard of political ambitions.”

Charles A. Stevenson, who as a national security adviser to four U.S. senators has seen several defense secretaries in action, examines the unique challenges of this office to learn why the failure rate has been so high. SECDEF focuses on how the secretary performs in the broader world of national security policymaking, how he handles civil-military relations in planning strategy and wars, how he functions on the National Security Council and deals with the president and secretary of state, and how well he performs as a politician, especially in dealing with Congress. In office, Charles Stevenson finds, these men have tended to fall into one of the three general roles for executing such responsibilities: revolutionaries, firefighters, or, the most common role, team players. Stevenson analyzes each type for its defining characteristics and evaluates individual secretaries. This book will appeal to defense professionals and students alike and to readers interested in American defense and foreign policy who want to learn more about the important role often played by the person informally labeled the SECDEF.

About this title

Review

"I learned a tremendous amount from SECDEF and enjoyed the process of learning. Charles Stevenson has combined encyclopedic knowledge of Pentagon history, a graceful and entertaining writing style, and provocative insights to produce an original and very valuable book. It is particularly useful in connecting debates about Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership during the current Iraq war with the decades-long evolution of the SECDEF's role." --James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and author of National Defense

Synopsis

This book offers an expert's insights into one of the most difficult jobs in Washington DC. Of the twenty-one men who have held the post of U.S. Secretary of Defense ("SecDef") since it was created in 1947, only half have served more than eighteen months. The first, James Forrestal, committed suicide soon after leaving the Pentagon. Seven if his successors were fired or allowed to resign gracefully after losing the confidence of the President. Many left frustrated and disappointed: the job has been called "the graveyard of political ambitions". This book examines the unique challenges of this political office to learn why the failure rate has been so high. It will prove essential reading for political and defence professionals and students who want to understand the important role played within the American government by the person informally labelled The SecDef. It is essential reading for observers of the American political scene, and a textbook for political and defence professionals, and students.

Edition details

• Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1574887947
• ISBN 13: 9781574887945
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224