In naming retired four-star General Eric Shinseki to be the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, President-elect Obama picked a true hero to lead a department that has endured budget shortfalls and that is facing new demands due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Shinseki famously predicted in 2003 that "several hundred thousand" troops would be needed to maintain postwar peace in Iraq. He was criticized by the arrogant Rummy and Wolfie team as being "way off the mark." Neocons were interested in selling the American public a rosy scenario for war, so that their desire to invade Iraq would not be derailed. Much later, Generals Abazaid and James Jones (now Obama's national security advisor) stated that Shinseki was right in his estimate. Apart from the merit of the appointment, it is also a well-deserved, belated thumb in the eye for the neocons and their civilian counterparts in the Pentagon.
