Lynn Apparently In

CQPolitics is reporting that Gordon England's replacement has been named.

President-elect Barack Obama has told congressional leaders he plans to nominate William Lynn to be deputy secretary of Defense, the House’s top Defense appropriator said Tuesday.

John P. Murtha , D-Pa., chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said he had been briefed on the selection by Obama’s transition staff and that he wholly endorsed Lynn to take over as the No. 2 official at the Pentagon. A congressional aide said the formal announcement was expected this week.

Lynn would be the latest in a string of high-level appointments of former Clinton-era officials by the incoming Obama administration. He last served as Pentagon comptroller under Defense Secretary William S. Cohen from 1997 to 2001 and previously worked for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass.

Currently, he works for defense contractor Raytheon as senior vice president for government operations and strategy.

I have no idea if Mr. Lynn is a good choice or not, but it is very good timing for the Obama administration. There were some early signs that an air of uncertainty regarding the transition process was creeping into the minds of folks who had not seen any positive activity after Gates was kept.

That CQPolitics article is really an important read for folks trying to understand the transition process taking place in the Pentagon right now, and I can confirm everything in that article all the way down to Murtha's comments about a need for a number two to Gates that wouldn't be a future SECDEF like Danzig captures the essence of what is happening inside the bubble. It mimics in a number of ways comments I have been hearing since the new year.

The article goes on to note that Michele Flournoy could be named as undersecretary of Defense for policy. I think that would be a really good choice. Like just about anyone they would name, there are positions we disagree, but I think she is not only interesting, but insightful and a forward thinker, which is exactly what you want in that job.

If you want to know a little more about her, I recommend that you read the Center for New American Security Solarium Strategy Series document, "Making America Grand Again: Toward a New Grand Strategy", by Shawn Brimley, Michèle A. Flournoy, Vikram J. Singh, June, 2008.

It argues for using as an organizing principle the application of American power and influence to sustain the international system upon which all modern states depend. With enormous challenges coming to a head this year inside the Pentagon, Obama appears to be getting the people with the right strategic vision in place to manage whatever inevitable damage comes from the tough times ahead.