Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel waves goodbye as he boards his plane at Scott Air Force Base earlier this year. (Photo: DoD/Glenn Fawcett )
Departure of Pentagon chief comes amid ongoing wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is stepping down from the top post at the Pentagon "under pressure" reports the New York Times on Monday.
Other outlets report that Hagel's resignation has been accepted by President Obama. The official announcement of the resignation is expected to come from Obama later today.
According to the Times:
The president, who is expected to announce Mr. Hagel's resignation in a Rose Garden appearance on Monday, made the decision to ask his defense secretary -- the sole Republican on his national security team -- to step down last Friday after a series of meetings over the past two weeks, senior administration officials said.
The officials described Mr. Obama's decision to remove Mr. Hagel, 68, as a recognition that the threat from the Islamic State would require a different kind of skills than those that Mr. Hagel was brought on to employ. A Republican with military experience who was skeptical about the Iraq war, Mr. Hagel came in to manage the Afghanistan combat withdrawal and the shrinking Pentagon budget in the era of budget sequestration.
But now "the next couple of years will demand a different kind of focus," one administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He insisted that Mr. Hagel was not fired, saying that he initiated discussions about his future two weeks ago with the president, and that the two men mutually agreed that it was time for him to leave.
Reaction among progressives and anti-war voices was captured, in tone and substance, on Twitter:
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.
We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.
Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will.
Our Summer Campaign is falling short. The only way Common Dreams can survive is with the support of readers like you. Will you donate $27 to keep nonprofit journalism alive?
| |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jon QueallyJon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is stepping down from the top post at the Pentagon "under pressure" reports the New York Times on Monday.
Other outlets report that Hagel's resignation has been accepted by President Obama. The official announcement of the resignation is expected to come from Obama later today.
According to the Times:
The president, who is expected to announce Mr. Hagel's resignation in a Rose Garden appearance on Monday, made the decision to ask his defense secretary -- the sole Republican on his national security team -- to step down last Friday after a series of meetings over the past two weeks, senior administration officials said.
The officials described Mr. Obama's decision to remove Mr. Hagel, 68, as a recognition that the threat from the Islamic State would require a different kind of skills than those that Mr. Hagel was brought on to employ. A Republican with military experience who was skeptical about the Iraq war, Mr. Hagel came in to manage the Afghanistan combat withdrawal and the shrinking Pentagon budget in the era of budget sequestration.
But now "the next couple of years will demand a different kind of focus," one administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He insisted that Mr. Hagel was not fired, saying that he initiated discussions about his future two weeks ago with the president, and that the two men mutually agreed that it was time for him to leave.
Reaction among progressives and anti-war voices was captured, in tone and substance, on Twitter: