I have long held that Mr. Obama's White House advisers
are less than competently assured, less than what we
need in the Age of Terror; they demonstrate an unfortunate
sense of timing now, in insisting on Chuck Hagel's
resignation, which has been accepted. There should
be continuity at Defense while we struggle to handle
extremely problematic affairs in the Middle East. There
will be a power and policy vacuum while a transition
occurs, and no shining candidate for Defense Secretary
springs to mind.
Beginning with Axelrod and Plouffe, Mr. Obama
has favored his political Chicago connections, not
taking a page from Abraham Lincoln in presiding
over a diverse cabinet--except for appointing Mr.
Hagel, a moderate Republican who served in
Vietnam. These two characteristics made Hagel
a fine choice, which Obama now spurns on the
advice of his Chicago hacks.
The timing here couldn't be worse. The president
is wrong, Mr. Hagel has not "completed" anything,
not while ISIS runs rampant, among other nettlesome
dangers. There IS still time, however, for Mr. Obama
to complete an unfortunate chapter in his presidency--
get rid of most of his Chicago-based White House
inner circle...
No time like the present.
**************************************
[Our president could ask former president Jimmy
Carter to be his Middle East adviser; Mr. Carter
is highly knowledgeable in Middle East Affairs,
is well liked there, has written important
books about the area. Why not? He certainly
has more foreign policy awareness and sensitivity
than anyone currently on the team. But pride
rather than statesmanship will prevent such
an inspired appointment.]
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This gives us a lot to think about Amber. In many circles the word is Mr Hagel was fired.
ReplyDeleteI thought Chuck Hagel did a commendable job, too. And he wasn't trigger-happy like certain recent Defense Secretaries. (One whose initials are DR).
DeleteJimmy Carter would provide sterling counsel. Like you say, he has the background and is a true statesman. But It'll never happen. He's unfairly perceived by many as a hater of Israel, simply because he's been a strong advocate for Palestinian justice.