Defense Secretary pick will be a challenge for Obama
With the mess in the Middle East, namely ISIL, and the problems with Russia, Obama is going to be hard pressed to find someone willing to take the job of Defense Secretary. They won’t want it for the same reasons Hagel is resigning. It’s all politics and the military is being run by the politicians just like in Vietnam. There won’t be any way to change that, which means the new Secretary would be inheriting a probable defeat in Iraq, a mess in Syria, a mess in the Palestinian territories, a nuclear Iran, and a President who is out to lunch. No one in their right mind would want that job, especially with the huge military budget cuts to make things even more difficult.
The Defense Secretary job opening is emerging as a thanks-but-no-thanks opportunity, as some of the top potential prospects have already said they’re not interested in the job.
Within minutes of reports Monday that Secretary Chuck Hagel would resign, the names of Michele Flournoy and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed emerged as top prospects.
But each made clear by the end of the day that they didn’t want the coveted but high-wire, Cabinet-level post.
The new secretary would indeed step into a difficult and complicated world, with the emergence of the deadly and unpredictable militant group Islamic State, amid Defense Department cuts.
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