Bush royalty and Condi loyalty (a few days old but a good piece)

[genieroze]

Bush royalty and Condi loyalty
By Mounzer Sleiman


Tuesday 25 January 2005, 20:18 Makka Time, 17:18 GMT



As the Bush second term begins, many are looking at the president's changes to his national security team and wondering how they will affect policymaking over the next four years.

Condoleezza Rice moved to a more challenging post at the Department of State, while her deputy, Steve Hadley, will try to fill her shoes at the National Security Council.

In the meantime, Donald Rumsfeld appears to be firmly entrenched at the Pentagon, despite the growing number of calls for his removal.

While many analysts will look at these changes and try to divine how this will change US national security policy, they tend to overlook the major player in making policy: The president.

It is clear from Bush's first four years that he has more influence in arriving at crucial decisions than his critics are willing to admit. Influence from cabinet members such as Colin Powell was much less than most analysts expected.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/39F0FFE0-5AA9-405D-949B-DB6806F33655.htm