Obama seeks defense secretary
December 2, 2014
On Tuesday, various US media outlets reported that the Pentagon official Ashton Carter is among the top contenders for US defense secretary, expected to be announced by President Barack Obama soon. He served as deputy defense secretary until late 2013 and was also the top arms buyer for the Pentagon.
The television channel CNN reported that Obama was most likely to nominate Carter for the position, but neither the Pentagon nor Carter's spokeswoman would comment on the validity of the claim. A Republican senator has also said that Carter would be the nominee.
The 60-year-old Carter is an expert on high-tech weapons and military budgets and holds a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Oxford. He worked in the Pentagon during Bill Clinton's term as president and assisted in the de-nuclearization Ukraine and former Soviet countries.
Other possible candidates for the defense secretary position include former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig and Kurt Campbell, who was the assistant secretary of state for Asian and Pacific Affairs and is now heading a think tank.
A challenging job
The appointment of a new defense secretary is a tough call for Obama after Chuck Hagel resigned last week. Hagel had been looking after the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan and the US-led operation in Syria and Iraq against the "Islamic State" group. However, the Vietnam veteran faced criticism for his handling of the operations.
At the time, Senator Jack Reed, a democrat from Rhode Island, and former Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy were being touted as possible successors. However, both Reed and Flournoy soon declared that they were uninterested in the position.
Analysts believe that with just two years left in Obama's tenure as president, the defense secretary's job is not meant for anyone with broader political ambitions. Problems like the Islamic State, the situation in Ukraine and the standoff with Russia present too much uncertainty for a defense secretary to make a considerable impact.
mg/mkg (AP, AFP, Reuters)