article_snippet: Lippert was nominated to be the top Asia policy official in the Pentagon in 2011, amid stories that he had clashed with former national security adviser, retired Gen. James Jones, while he served on the NSC.
article_snippet: Bob Woodward reported in Bob Woodward book, "Obama's Wars," that Jones resented Lippert and another former Senate aide Denis McDonough, who later was to become White House chief of staff, referring to them as part of the "politburo" who he thought thwarted the effective framing of policy.
article_snippet: Bob Woodward reported in his book.
article_snippet: CNN's Barbara Starr, Jim Acosta and Paula Hancocks contributed to this report.