Gen. Jones, French-Speaking Elitist

by Chris Bodenner
David Sands profiles the next NSA:

Tall, square-shouldered and square-jawed, James L. Jones looks like central casting’s version of exactly what he is: a straight-talking, straight-shooting Marine. But the retired four-star general … has a few lines on his resume not normally associated with former Marine Corps commandants or former NATO supreme allied commanders.

For one thing, the 65-year-old Kansas City, Mo. native speaks fluent French, thanks to a childhood spent mainly in Paris where his father worked for International Harvester. For another, he’s one of the few Marines who holds a degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.