Mullen 'very positive' after first meeting with Obama

FIRST IMPRESSION The chairman of the Joint Chiefs came away with a view of the next president as a nonideological pragmatist.

WASHINGTON - Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went unarmed into his first meeting with the incoming commander in chief - no aides, no PowerPoint presentation, no briefing books.

Summoned nine days ago to President-elect Barack Obama's Chicago transition office, Mullen showed up with just a pad, a pen, and a desire to take the measure of his boss to be.

There was little talk of exiting Iraq or beefing up the US force in Afghanistan; the one-on-one, 45-minute conversation ranged from the personal to the philosophical. Mullen came away with what he wanted: a view of the next president as a nonideological pragmatist who was willing to both listen and lead.

After the meeting, the chairman "felt very good, very positive," according to Mullen spokesman Captain John Kirby.

Obama plans to announce his national security team today. In forming his security staff, Obama is facing a military that has long mistrusted Democrats and is particularly wary of a young, intellectual leader with no experience in uniform who once called Iraq a "dumb" war.

Military leaders have all heard Obama's pledge to withdraw most combat forces from Iraq within 16 months - sooner than commanders on the ground have recommended - and his implied criticism of the Afghanistan war effort during the Bush administration. But Obama appears to be going out of his way to reassure them that he will do nothing rash and will seek their advice, even while making clear that he may not always take it.

He has demonstrated an ability to speak the lingo, talk about "mission plans" and "tasking," and to differentiate between strategy and tactics, a distinction Republican nominee John McCain accused him of misunderstanding during the campaign.

Obama has been careful to separate his criticism of Bush policy from his praise of the military's valor and performance, while Michelle Obama's public expressions of concern for military families have gone over well.

But most important, according to several senior officers and civilian Pentagon officials who would speak about their next leader only on condition of anonymity, is the expectation of renewed respect for the chain of command and greater realism about US military goals and capabilities, which many found lacking during the Bush years.

"Open and serious debate versus ideological certitude will be a great relief to the military leaders," said retired Major General William L. Nash of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Senior officers are aware that few among their ranks voiced misgivings over the Iraq war, but they say that they were not encouraged to suppress such views by the White House or the Pentagon under Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Obama's expected retention of Robert M. Gates as defense secretary, and expected appointments of Senator Hillary Clinton of New York as secretary of state and retired Marine General James L. Jones as national security adviser, have been greeted with relief at the Pentagon.

Clinton is respected at the Pentagon and is considered a defense moderate, at times bordering on hawkish.

Through her membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee she has developed close ties with senior military figures.

Some in the military are suspicious of "flagpole" officers such as Jones, whose assignments included Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, Marine commandant, and other headquarters service.

Jones grew up in France and is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. But he also saw combat in Vietnam and served with the US military in Bosnia.