Obama and his White House Inner Circle Take Down Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has been "pushed out" of office. That is the description of Hagel's resignation given by unnamed White House sources. These sources are quoted by CNN as saying that it is "a mutual decision." Hagel has become more and more direct in giving the President advice about his ISIS/Iraq/Syria strategy. But, Representative Peter King told CNN that, in fact, recently Hagel has spoken out at odds with his Commander-in-Chief in a forceful way one wouldn't expect. Hagel's latest policy advice letter to Obama said that the President : needs to be clearer about his ISIS strategy; needs a strategy about how to handle the Syria al-Assad regime; and needs to recognize that the successes against ISIS could be jeopardized without a clearer Syria strategy. In essence, Hagel's questions about Obama's strategy toward Syria warned President Obama that his policy was in jeopardy due to its failure to clarify its intentions toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Obama has insisted that the United States can go after ISIS militants without addressing al-Assad, who the United States would like to leave power. ~~~~~ Reuters reported today that a senior Obama administration official told it : "A successor will be named in short order, but Secretary Hagel will remain as Defense Secretary until his replacement is confirmed by the United States Senate." Other officials said Obama wanted fresh leadership during the final two years of his administration. But, Washington insiders seem to be convinced that Secretary Hagel was forced out because senior White House advisors, including those on the National Security Council, were not happy working with him and his public opposition to their ideas. ~~~~~ USA TODAY reports that a White House official said Hagel began speaking with Obama about departing the administration in October, noting that the midterm congressional elections provided a natural transition. Indeed, Obama has spoken to many top administration officials about whether they would stay on for the last two years of his presidency, according to the unnamed official who spoke to USA TODAY. But there are conflicting accounts of whether Obama asked Hagel to step down or he resigned voluntarily. The New York Times broke the news, citing anonymous sources, when it reported that Obama asked Hagel to resign. ~~~~~ After a shaky confirmation hearing, Hagel continued to have trouble expressing himself, often ceding public leadership to Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey, and sometimes contradicting White House positions. The most vivid example was Hagel's famous characterization of ISIS. Here is how the NYT put it : "He raised the ire of the White House in August as the administration was ramping up its strategy to fight [ISIS], directly contradicting the President, who months before had likened the sunni militant group to a junior varsity basketball squad. Mr. Hagel, facing reporters in his now-familiar role next to General Dempsey, called [ISIS] an “imminent threat to every interest we have,” adding, “This is beyond anything that we’ve seen.” White House officials later said they viewed those comments as unhelpful, although the administration still appears to be struggling to define just how large is the threat posed by [ISIS]." ~~~~~ In announcing Secretary Hagel's resignation, President Obama called him "an exemplary Defense Secretary." However, military experts, including Lt. Colonel Rick Francona, CNN senior military advisor, say that Hagel has been eliminated just as he had been able to positively connect with the Pentagon military leadership and was finding his voice to speak out on behalf of the US military about what needs to be done to defeat ISIS and to re-establish order in Iraq. Colonel Francona said that Hagel was "cut off at the knees" at a time when President Obama and his senior advisors are visibly struggling to figure out what their Middle East policy is or should be. According to Francona and other experts, the US military will continue to wonder just what Obama wants from it, either as tactics or strategy -- because with no clear presidential strategic statement as guidance, the military can act but cannot fully lead either Middle East military allies or the elusive Obama Iraq coalition. ~~~~~ Dear readers, "an exemplary Defense Secretary." Those are President Obama's words. Why would a President truly in charge of his own White House force an exemplary Defense Secretary to resign -- especially when Hagel's successor will face fiery confirmation hearings before a Republican Senate Armed Services Committee chaired by Senator John McCain. Are Obama and his White House senior advisors simply political babes in the woods, or do they relish starting and stirring fights with Congress and the GOP because they mistakenly see and relish that as their role. What "an unholy mess" - a line from Grace Kelly in High Society that perfectly describes Barack Obama and his White House. Chuck Hagel is the scapegoat - sacrificial lamb - expendable soldier. He is out of step. But, it is America and her military who will pay. Americans will pay in squandered tax dollars for an undeclared war that cannot even be defined by their Commander-in-Chief. The US military will pay in wasted bodies and devotion to duty and pride for a cause they can neither understand nor plan properly nor be at ease with. When the Iraq collapse began because of Obama's 2011 troop withdrawal, Robert Gates was Defense Secretary, a man who had the complete confidence of the military. It took his successor, Chuck Hagel, two years to get even a part of Gates' respect from the Pentagon. Now, Gates and Hagel are both gone and only two years remain in the Obama presidency. Is there enough time for the next Defense Secretary to gain the respect he needs to be able to speak for the military when at the White House? Or will Obama appoint a yes man who forces the Pentagon to turn inward and hunker down until 2016? Right now, none of the possibilities are encouraging. We may be facing two years in which the US military will feel that it is without a voice in White House councils concerning Middle East strategy and goals that affect them profoundly. And it raises the fear in the military that Hagel was fired, for that is what happened, exactly because he defended aggressive action against ISIS, while Obama and his inner circle of advisors are preparing to spin back and scale down the US role in Iraq and Syria, in blind pursuit of his "legacy" goal of ending the war in Iraq. It brings to mind Dwight Eisenhower, a great military leader who became a great President. Ike said : "But all history has taught us the grim lesson that no nation has ever been successful in avoiding the terrors of war by refusing to defend its rights -- by attempting to placate aggression." Radio and Television Report to the American People, Security in the Free World, 1959.