Against them have stood Joe Biden, the vice-president, who is reckoned to favour a narrower focus on counter-terrorism operations, and Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, who is thought to be worried about the impact of the deepening war on Mr Obama's prospects for re-election.

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In the Obama Administration, even before becoming chief of staff, he has helped to manage the day-to-day operations at the State Department and shepherd through the Budget Control Act to reduce federal spending in a second stint at OMB.

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James Lyons, U.S. Navy retired admiral, was commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations, and deputy chief of naval operations, where he was principal adviser on all Joint Chiefs of Staff matters.

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