The Pentagon’s Invisible Man
The Pentagon's Invisible Man by Gordon Lubold, Foreign Policy.
… When he was a senator, he was considered a free spirit — a political omnivore and independent speaker of truth to power on issues from military force to negotiations with Iran. So when he got the nod to be defense secretary, many assumed he would bring a new kind of vigor to the Pentagon just when the place needed it most.
But after surviving his infamously bruising confirmation battle, Hagel has made few daring moves. He hasn't yet driven a pointed agenda, fired any poor-performing generals, or sent clear signals about how he'll put his personal stamp on a job he seemed to want but many believe he has yet to own. There has been scant word of him scoring any of the kind of bureaucratic victories at the Defense Department or within the broader Obama administration that some Pentagon watchers would have thought they'd see by now. And on the most prominent issue confronting the Defense Department — the budget — his moves have been cautious. Just this month he announced details of cuts to headquarters personnel, but its centerpiece was only a decrease of 200 people — over five years – an underwhelming cut given popular perceptions of a bloated Pentagon bureaucracy…
