Apparatchik spurned

This just in:

The Bush administration is dropping a plan to take control over the promotions of military lawyers, following an outpouring of alarm over the independence of uniformed attorneys who have repeatedly objected to the White House's policies toward prisoners in the war on terrorism.

Under the proposal, first reported by the Globe on Saturday, politically appointed lawyers in the Pentagon would have gained the power to veto the appointment or promotion of any member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, the military's 4,000-member uniformed legal officers group.

...

Under Haynes's proposal, the military officers on JAG promotion boards would have been required to coordinate with Haynes and the services' general counsels before making final decisions about whom to promote. Retired JAGs said the proposal would have sent the message that any JAG who voices disagreement with the administration's legal theories will never be promoted.

Gee, ya think?