This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

ISIS' First Administration Casualty: Chuck Hagel Resigns Under Pressure From Obama

Tyler Durden's picture




 

It appears some folks might be scapegoated... As NY Times reports, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is stepping down, under presssure. President Obama made the decision to ask his defense secretary — the sole Republican on his national security team — to step down last Friday, as a recognition that the threat from the Islamic State would require a different kind of skills than those that Mr. Hagel has, and that his team has struggled to stay ahead of an onslaught of global crises.

As NY Times reports,

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.

 

In his less than two years on the job, Mr. Hagel’s detractors said he struggled to inspire confidence at the Pentagon in the manner of his predecessors, especially Robert Gates. But several of Mr. Obama’s top advisers have over the past months also acknowledged privately that the president did not want another high-profile defense secretary in the manner of Mr. Gates, who went on to write a memoir of his years with Mr. Obama in which he sharply criticized the president. Mr. Hagel, they said, in many ways, was exactly the kind of Defense Secretary which the president, after battling the military during his first term, wanted.

 

...

 

He raised the ire of the White House in August as the administration was ramping up its strategy to fight the Islamic State, 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 the Islamic State 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 the Islamic State.

*  *  *

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Mon, 11/24/2014 - 21:43 | 5484117 Bazza McKenzie
Bazza McKenzie's picture

Love that bit about telling the truth being insubordination.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 11:37 | 5481549 DarthVaderMentor
DarthVaderMentor's picture

I'm afraid that Hagel's resignation is just the start of the 24-month unraveling of this administration. Wait until you find our what was in Lois Lerner's email log......

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 11:41 | 5481558 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Unraveling implies there was something there before...

The whole thing was just a yarn...

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:14 | 5481710 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

'twas never raveled in the first place.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 11:57 | 5481569 NuYawkFrankie
NuYawkFrankie's picture

He probably didn't feel comfortable going along with ZIO USSA plans for WWIII

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 11:43 | 5481577 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

lots of military getting cut, nuke forces top guys ..hagel had limited shelf life, and can be scape goated. nobody wants to work for the mulatto, only the lowest ability power hungry sociopaths, I expect the first female sec of def, hillary is too smart to take that bait, how about that  dyke rachel madcow girl on cnbc?

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 23:53 | 5484669 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

 

Is a female enough?

Don't she have to be black, too?

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 11:52 | 5481616 Panic Mode
Panic Mode's picture

Moar war, moar drone, 

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:04 | 5481671 Jonathan Equine...
Jonathan Equine Phallus's picture

 

Today [November 24, 2014] is the deadline for the closing of a deal with Iran regarding their nuclear program. No one should be surprised that Israel is marking this deadline with a threat to attack Iran regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. As the Jerusalem Post is reporting on its front page:

"Israel has issued a stark, public warning to its allies with a clear argument: Current proposals guarantee the perpetuation of a crisis, backing Israel into a corner from which military force against Iran provides the only logical exit."

This is a lie, and is widely recognized as such: the Israelis don’t have the military capacity to take out all the Iranian nuclear sites without American assistance. Aside from that, however, they never attack those capable of hitting back in any significant way, so we can write off this latest threat as just so much kvetching. Yet one has to wonder: is this the way an ally is supposed to act – never mind one that we enjoy a purported "special relationship" with?

The reality is that Israel is our biggest frenemy.

 

The Jewish State in the Levant is a burden we shouldn’t have to bear

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:54 | 5481895 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

 

Isn't it possible....

 "is this the way an ally is supposed to act?"

America and Israel are playing good asshole/bad asshole in the Nuclear Iran negotiations?

 That America has absolutely no interest in making a deal with Iran, unless it gets all of what it wants?  That obnoxious Israel is only a willing foil to make America look honorable and fair?

That Iran's nuclear ambitions notwithstanding, regime change in Tehran was always our goal for Iran, and its 2nd or 3rd largest oil reserves in the world?

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:04 | 5481674 RabbitOne
RabbitOne's picture

Rumor has is it that Hagel refused to raise his right arm in salute and say “… Heil Obama!…”

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:10 | 5481690 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

There's over a 100% chance that Hagel quit and agreed to the cover story that Black Mischief fired him.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:17 | 5481721 livefreediefree
livefreediefree's picture

The Obama administration's modus operandi is to win today's news cycle. Thus, it is no coincidence that Hagel's firing happened the same day as the collapse of the Iranian nuclear talks.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:23 | 5481754 DullKnife
DullKnife's picture

Hagel says ISIS is a threat.

Obola says ISIS not a threat.

ISIS turns out to be a threat.

Who gets canned?

Hagel.

Makes sense.

Hagel did two felony grade offenes.

1. Was correct.

2. Demonstrated Obola's competence and thus embarrassed Dear Ruler.

(likely will be eaten by dogs)

 

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:52 | 5481880 thebigunit
thebigunit's picture

I've got it!

Secretary of Defense Hillary Rodham Clinton!

I am s-o-o-o-o-o smart.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:59 | 5481925 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

If you give someone a boobie prize do you have to give them actual boobs?

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:52 | 5481883 One Eyed Jack
One Eyed Jack's picture

Bye you worthless, drunkard, incompetent, sellout piece of shit.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 12:58 | 5481915 mototard
mototard's picture

Hmm,

CAIR USA and the Muslim American Society have said that being critical of Muslim extremism is "Islamaphobic."

The UAE has called them both terrorist groups and the Arab League has agreed with the UAE.

Does that make the UAE and the Arab League Islamaphobic?

Does that mean that the US State Dept, which supports CAIR USA - is a terrorist sympathizer?

 

 

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 13:48 | 5482171 besnook
besnook's picture

we have israelis running our banks. we have an israeli running our state department. we need an israeli running our military. heckuvajob!

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 13:52 | 5482185 One Eyed Jack
One Eyed Jack's picture

Secretary of Defense Jarret it is a two-fer that way first/first

/S

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 14:32 | 5482366 Ms No
Ms No's picture

Why is Iran so silent on the origins of ISIS anyway? 

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 14:45 | 5482418 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

.

Why is Iran so silent on the origins of ISIS anyway?

They're smart enough to recognize a US project when they see one. No sense in repeatedly stating the obvious.

Tue, 11/25/2014 - 00:11 | 5484760 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

They're afraid of more sanctions if they rat out Obama.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 14:55 | 5482450 red1chief
red1chief's picture

The last sentence of the article suggests Hagel merely became a salesman for the military-industrial complex, a point with which I agree.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 14:56 | 5482458 Monty Burns
Monty Burns's picture

Not surprised.  Hegel always struck me as the best of an admittedly very bad lot.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 16:41 | 5482864 theyjustcantstop
theyjustcantstop's picture

the BIS needed anyone with a r behind it's name to cut pentagon, and military personell, while backing the mic.

hagels trouble was he thought he really was SOD, and spoke without telepromter.

 

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 17:32 | 5483119 The Darwin Mode
The Darwin Mode's picture

But at least he didn't post without spelcheckr.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 18:35 | 5483391 Herdee
Herdee's picture

ISIS holds lots of nuclear waste material that they discovered.That's what the real concern is along with holding sophisticated U.S. military equipment that moderstes from Syria keep feeding them.Most likely just for money.The WhiteHouse is paranoid of what's called "a dirty bomb."I'd be very afrais too after what's gone on in Iraq and Afghanistan.Some of the radioactive isotopes have a half life of anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 years.The other most likely item that has pissed off these guys is being double-crossed by the CIA on a lot of big dope deals.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!