Rumsfeld: Don't Forget Who's Boss

WASHINGTON - One might have expected Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to be too busy for such matters. After all, there's a global war on terrorism under way.
Even so, he wanted himself understood by Tommy Franks:

There is, Rumsfeld stressed, only one commander in chief.

That already might have been obvious to many. No lesser authority than the U.S. Constitution establishes that the president is the ultimate boss.

But aides say that wasn't enough for Rumsfeld, troubled with Franks' title: ``Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command.''

Henceforth, Rumsfeld let it be known, Franks and other generals in the chain of command just below him and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff would have new titles.

The dozen-plus generals at the top of the unified armed forces - all called commanders in chief, or CINCS (as in ``sinks'') - would become known as ``combatant commanders.''

Problem is, not everybody has saluted on this one. Despite Rumsfeld's use of the term, it hasn't caught on with the media, public, troops - or the top brass.

Irritated, according to aides, Rumsfeld sent in a second wave, in the form of a terse yet urgent memo this summer.