Ex-military officials' performance in administration questioned

By The Post's White House reporters Anne E. Kornblut and Scott Wilson:

President Obama's firing of retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair as national intelligence chief highlights a pattern of problems involving senior administration officials who once served in the upper ranks of the military.

In addition to Blair, whose job has been in peril for months, the performance of National Security Adviser James L. Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry, and Special Envoy to Sudan L. Scott Gration have also been questioned both inside and outside the government. All four men achieved the rank of admiral or general before joining the administration.

White House officials say that, other than Blair, the men have largely succeeded after sometimes difficult starts -- and have the president's support. But their transitions from the top of rigid military chains of command to a White House where decision-making often ignores hierarchy have been turbulent, even as they manage some of the administration's most far-reaching challenges.

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