To the Point

Rules of Engagement and Military Micro-Management

General Norman Schwarzkopf moved his Gulf War command post to Saudi Arabia to be close to the troops, but General Tommy Franks runs the war in Afghanistan from 8,000 miles away in Tampa, Florida. Franks says that his heart told him to move closer to the troops but his head told him to stay at Central Command, with one of the most advanced, high-tech communications centers on Earth. With US aircraft and ground troops already in action in Afghanistan and preparing to move into Pakistan, some senior officers complain that Frank's too far from the action and too close to civilian micro-managers in the Pentagon and White House. We re-visit the recurring argument that goes all the way back to Vietnam with military and civilian national security experts. Newsmaker: Jobless Rate Shoots Up to 6 Percent American companies slashed hundreds of thousands of jobs to cope with last year's recession. Last month payrolls grew for the first time in 9 months, but it wasn't enough as unemployment shot up to 8 percent, the highest in nearly eight years. Jared Bernstein, formerly with the Clinton Labor Department, now at the Economic Policy Institute, explains the apparent contradiction. Reporter's Notebook: Who Are Le Pen's Voters? He stunned all French by beating Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to qualify for the runoff election against incumbent President Jacques Chirac. The backlash against him is so strong that many TV personalities refuse to interview him and Chirac says he won't demean himself by debating him. So, who is supporting Jean-Marie Le Pen? Yaroslav Trofimov, staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has the surprising answer.