9 June Washington Post - Joint Chiefs Chair Will Bow Out by Josh White and Thomas E. Ricks.

... Pace's departure -- along with the simultaneous retirement of Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, his vice chairman -- completes a nearly clean sweep of top military advisers linked to the tenure of Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary. Both military officers were close to Rumsfeld and have been criticized for not challenging him.

In office since Rumsfeld was ousted after the November elections, Gates has shown a desire to distance himself from Rumsfeld's Pentagon. Since he arrived, new commanders have moved into Iraq and the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, and the White House has added Army Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute to a unique position coordinating war policy. As he noted yesterday, Gates had planned to retain both Pace and Giambastiani but decided against that when it became clear that Pace would face a difficult reconfirmation hearing...