December 2, 2014

DoD Secretary — Slim Pickings

It’s been a week since Hagel’s firing with no replacement in sight.

It has been a week since the resignation/ouster of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and yet there still appears to be no clear choice for Barack Obama as to who should next head the Pentagon. The reasons for this are many.

Rather than speculate on the next secretary, perhaps the question should be: Who would want to be the next Pentagon chief? Certainly there is a pool of people from which Obama could choose, but those who should be considered for the position won’t be, and several potential candidates have already declined.

For example, Michèle Flournoy was seen by many policy pundits as the frontrunner for the job, as she served as undersecretary of defense from 2009 to 2012. She could have been the first female appointed to the position, but she declined. Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed was also viewed as an option to succeed Hagel, but he plans to stay right where he is.

Another potential replacement is former Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, an academic considered to be an expert on budgets and weapons in the Pentagon. However, there are two problems. First, Carter is an expert on budgets, of which Obama knows little beyond cutting the defense budget for America’s military while breaking the bank for everything else. Second, Carter is considered to be an aggressive and independent thinker, and, he admits, “I do not think they are looking for someone more aggressive and independent.”

> Update 12/2 at 11:45 a.m.: USA TODAY reports that Carter is the likely nominee.

Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey notes that Obama will likely pick a “technocrat without much political pull in Washington DC,” or perhaps put forward DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. Morrissey asks, “Who else would want a job where all of the blame would fall on his or her shoulders for a set of policies over which he or she would have little influence?”

National Review’s John Fund likewise observes, “Too many people view it as a job not worth having in an atmosphere where the White House manages everything.” Fund explains that no one wants to contend with the likes of National Security Advisor Susan Rice, “who exercises an iron grip on key aspects of foreign policy,” or White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, “who seems to have both hands in every pie at the White House.”

Furthermore, who would want to tag team with Secretary of State John Kerry, who deems that climate change is our biggest national-security threat? Well, besides Hagel, who shared that view.

Anyone with any sense recognizes that Obama’s foreign policy is a failure and is devastating to our nation, and anyone who even attempts to voice dissent against the president is pushed away.

It would be refreshing for Obama to tap someone for the Pentagon post who understands the threat of the Islamic State and other terrorist networks around the world. It would be desirable if Obama would choose someone who understands the geopolitical threat Russia presents to the world. It would be wonderful if he would pick a person who would strengthen the U.S. military and put an end to the leftist social engineering that weakens troop morale and unit readiness. However, the prospect of such a choice is dim.

Based on the record this president and his administration have established over the last six years, during which time three people have held the Pentagon post, the likelihood of Obama picking the right person now is slim to none. Even if the right person were picked, would he or she want to serve for the next two years under this president and his policy failures? It’s unlikely, but we can hope – better yet pray – for change.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.