Edelman to Become Pentagon’s Number 3

A White House statement issued yesterday revealed that Edelman is set to be assigned as the replacement for Douglas Feith, one of the assistant secretaries of Defense. Before he was sent to Ankara, Edelman was adviser to US Vice President Dick Cheney and previously served as the US ambassador to Finland. When Edelman announced his planned resignation, there was much speculation among Washington circles as to his next position. The White House statement issued yesterday ended any such speculation.

Edelman started his career at the State Department in 1980 and was assigned to Ankara as the US ambassador on August 15th 2003. Along with Edelman’s new position, the White House also declared that the current Naval Secretary, Gordon England, will be appointed to the office of Assistant Secretary of Defense, in place of Paul Wolfowitz who is scheduled to take on the position of President of the World Bank. Both appointments need to be approved by the US Senate.