Sounds like you're on the same page with Newt
In 1991 my concern for replacing the broken interagency system with an integrated system of effective coordination was heightened when General Max Thurmond who had planned and led the liberation of Panama told me unequivocally that the interagency process was broken.
In 1995 that process was reinforced when General Hartzog described the failures of the interagency in trying to deal with Haiti.
As early as 2002 it was clear that the interagency had broken down in Afghanistan and I gave a very strong speech in May 2003 at the American Enterprise Institute criticizing the process.
By the summer of 2003 it was clear the interagency was failing in Iraq and by September and October 2003 we were getting consistent reports from the field of the gap between the capability of the combat forces and the failure of the civilian systems.
No senior officer in the Defense Department doubts that the current interagency cannot work at the speed of modern war. They will not engage in a fight with the National Security Council or the State Department or the various civilian agencies which fail to do their job. But in private they will assert over and over again that the interagency system is hopelessly broken.
Not to brag, but actually Newt is aligned with me/us. We conservatives have complained about this since Jimmy Carter. Little did we realize how bad it was. Political holdovers have undermined US interests for years.
Now the method seems to be leaving the White House and going to Energy and State (and others) as a means of staying on a payroll as they undermine the administration.
I would be willing to bet many leaks would almost disappear if these people were not transferring to these departments.