America 1982-Chapter 245 - 83 Powerful Figures_3
"The relationship between the Soviet Union and United State America seems to be more complex than my relationship with 120 nightclub girls," Dennis said after listening, patting Tommy on the shoulder, "You go first, I’ll come back to Stanford to find you in a few days."
"Aren’t you going to leave with me?" Tommy was stunned.
Dennis walked toward the community, "Of course not, I need to rush to satisfy my vanity. Besides, as a future military officer, I should comfort the empty hearts of my subordinates’ wives on their behalf. Tommy, do you know why you’re not as good as I am? Kindness. Remember this, kindness. Be kind to others and don’t be stingy with your kindness and love."
...
"Dick Cheney, a member of the House of Representatives, served as Chief of Staff in the White House during President Ford’s term but left office after less than a year following Ford’s electoral defeat."
"Donald Rumsfeld was the Chief of Staff in the White House and Secretary of Defense during President Ford’s term; he was also Dick Cheney’s mentor. After Ford lost the election, he went to work as CEO of Searle Pharmaceuticals. The military had a very good impression of this former Secretary of Defense."
"Thomas Hayward, former Chief of Naval Operations for the United State Navy, retired in ’81 and is now traveling around soliciting funds for his foundation, trying to get prestigious universities at home to provide more educational opportunities for ordinary soldiers."
Jim Manzi’s efficiency was amazing. Within a week, the guy had selected three names along with their information and presented them to Tommy, telling him they were all willing to speak at the charity dinner.
About the first two names, Tommy had some impression; one was known as the most powerful vice president in American history, and the other was a Secretary of Defense who had successfully turned his passing into a laughing matter.
However, Tommy remembered that Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush, but now Jim was telling him that Rumsfeld had been Secretary of Defense as early as ’75 when Ford took over from Nixon?
"Secretary of Defense during Ford’s presidency? How old was he at that time?" Tommy asked with some surprise as he flipped through Rumsfeld’s information and looked at Jim.
Jim put his feet up on the table and shook his legs lazily, "Forty-three, the youngest Secretary of Defense in American history. He was President Ford’s sharpest dagger, orchestrating the Halloween Massacre himself, completely purging the cabinet and eliminating Nixon’s holdovers."
Tommy, hearing Jim’s assessment of the man, curiously said, "You seem to admire him a lot."
"Of course, a man who at thirty could sit as a congressman, at thirty-six entered the White House as President Nixon’s assistant and head of the Office of Economic Affairs, at forty became President Ford’s Chief of Staff, at forty-three became Secretary of Defense, at forty-five served as CEO of the private enterprise Searle Pharmaceuticals, and by forty-seven, led the company from the Fortune 500 to the Fortune 100, isn’t such a man worthy of admiration and respect?" Jim looked at Tommy:
"However, it’s just admiration. That guy’s era is over. Take a look at the information; I’ve prepared it in detail."
Tommy looked at the information in his hand, and sure enough, Jim had listed the reasons why he had chosen Rumsfeld.
Firstly, as the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, he was interested in Jim’s prescription drug assistance plan for soldiers. If someone was willing to push it forward, Searle Pharmaceuticals was ready to cooperate.
Secondly, he was a German-American, from a Navy background, had graduated from Princeton University, and served in the Navy for four years. He also briefly attended the Naval Academy, which arguably made him an alumnus.
The third point, during his tenure as Secretary of Defense, he garnered friendship from the military.
President Ford was originally willing to sacrifice Rumsfeld because he hoped to thoroughly investigate the fake accounts and corruption within the United States armed forces. If such an investigation were launched and its progress published, Rumsfeld’s fate would have been sealed. He would have been metaphorically riddled with bullets from behind, and then the police would announce the investigation results, death by suicide.
After all, corruption within the military was extremely serious and interconnected. Even the President didn’t know what issues would trigger a complete explosion, so he dared not rashly take action yet needed political achievements and means to show the public that he replaced Nixon not by luck, but by capability and determination.
In the end, he had Rumsfeld deal with the issue.
But Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, did not die by suicide. After investigating, he chose a low-key conciliatory policy. He arranged for assistants for all department of defense officials, planning full schedules for these officers, including overseas exchanges or visits to various bases, simply to keep them occupied every day. This meant they could only let their assistants handle many of the internal affairs of the Department of Defense. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
And to the military officials, the assistants were untrustworthy outsiders who couldn’t be let in on the corrupt practices. This forced the officials to temporarily cease their corruption, and in some sense, Rumsfeld sidelined the military officials.
The corrupt officials thought that as long as they were vigilant with these assistants, they wouldn’t be caught for any past scandals. But Rumsfeld wasn’t interested in digging up old dirt. Instead, by comparing the accounts handled by the assistants after taking over with those previously submitted by the military, he deduced where severe corruption was occurring and where the accounting was falsified, thus clarifying the direction of the investigation.
