Hagel Sacked!

[planosteve]

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is stepping down under pressure, the first cabinet-level casualty of the collapse of President Obama’s Democratic majority in the Senate and a beleaguered national security team that has struggled to stay ahead of an onslaught of global crises.

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.

But Mr. Hagel’s aides had maintained in recent weeks that he expected to serve the full four years as defense secretary. His removal appears to be an effort by the White House to show that it is sensitive to critics who have pointed to stumbles in the government’s early response to several national security issues, including the Ebola crisis and the threat posed by the Islamic State.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/us/hagel-said-to-be-stepping-down-as-defense-chief-under-pressure.html?_r=0

[GFB]

Dealing with Isis will take a different type of skill?


Yes...SOME!!!

[Red Oak]

If you will recall Hagel stumbled throught his acceptance hearing and appeared unprepared and perhaps mentally impaired, he was confirmed inspite of his poor preparedness.

[planosteve]

Hagel was a stooge who's job was to keep his mouth shut and do what he was told. Apparently, he couldn't handle the job.

[Red Oak]

He wasn't degrading our defense quickly enough for Obama ?

[jellowrestling]

Obama would have preferred a show trial, followed by bullet to the back of the head, but he will settle for a resignation.

There has to be a scapegoat for Obama's incompetence.

[ralph]

think that hagel was a republican stooge and I just read an article / opinion that said that he wanted more ground troops to deal with 'isis' . That's why hagel was axed , who knows ??

[PlanoSooner]

Remember the SNL where ohbama pushes 'Bill' down the steps?
Well, he is at it again..... He just pushed Hagel down onto his sword.

[ralph]

I didn't like hagel anyway , same thing for Dempsey . I figure that they are / were mrobamas boys !!