Nation : Bush Not Told of Navy Shutdown

The White House said today that President Bush was not told in advance of the Navy’s unprecedented decision to suspend operations for a 48-hour safety check but the President was not upset by the failure to clear the move with him.

“The chief of naval operations doesn’t call the commander in chief every time he makes these kinds of decisions,” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.

“Now this is bigger than most, but it’s still his prerogative,” he said, referring to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Carlisle A. H. Trost. “That’s the way the chain of command works.”

He said Bush was informed of Trost’s decision by National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft. But Fitzwater said he did not know how much time elapsed between Trost’s order and the notification of the President.

The order by Trost and Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett III followed mishaps that have killed at least 15 people and injured 68 in 14 episodes in the last five weeks. There have been a dozen accidents since Oct. 29.