Obama: Dempsey for top military post
2011-05-31 12:57
Washington - President Barack Obama announced on Monday that he has chosen US Army General Martin Dempsey, who commanded an armoured division in key battles in Iraq, for the United States' top uniformed military post.
"With nearly 40 years in uniform, Martin Dempsey is one of our nation's most respected and combat-tested generals," Obama told reporters at the White House, where he formally unveiled his pick for chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"In Iraq, he led our soldiers [through] a brutal insurgency. Having trained Iraqi forces he knows that nations must ultimately take responsibility for their own security," the US president said, as he called on the Senate to confirm Dempsey's nomination "as swiftly as possible".
The announcement was made on Memorial Day, a solemn US holiday when America remembers the sacrifices of its fallen war heroes. At Arlington National Cemetery, Obama urged Americans to honour the sacrifices of their war dead by "heeding the example they set".
The shift also comes at a critical time of reorganization for the US defense and security apparatus.
Dempsey, 59, would succeed Admiral Mike Mullen; Dempsey served in the Iraq war, commanding the 1st Armoured Division in Iraq in 2003-04, and later led training efforts for Iraqi forces.
Nominating the four-star army general is seen as an unusual move and suggested that earlier plans were scrapped, given that Dempsey took over as chief of the US Army only in April.
The next chairperson of the Joint Chiefs will form part of a new national security team that will have to contend with the war in Afghanistan, turmoil in the Middle East and mounting pressure on the defence budget.
"I am announcing my choice today because it's essential that this transition be seamless and that we stay focused on the national security challenges before us," Obama told reporters.
