Exclusive: Flournoy Drops Out of Race to Be Next Secretary of Defense
Exclusive: Flournoy Drops Out of Race to Be Next Secretary of Defense by John Hudson and Yochi Dreazen, Foreign Policy
Michèle Flournoy, the most widely rumored candidate to replace Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense, has taken herself out of the running for the job, according to sources familiar with the situation. The decision complicates what will be one of the most important personnel decisions of President Barack Obama's second term.
Flournoy, the co-founder and CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a think tank that has served as a farm league for future Obama administration officials, would have been the first female secretary of defense had she risen to the position.
But in a letter Tuesday to members of the CNAS board of directors, Flournoy said she would remain in her post at the think tank and asked Obama to take her out of consideration to be the next secretary of defense…
Happy to see someone indirectly state the SecDef position is now after what happened between the NSC/Obama and Hagel “damaged goods”.
Whoever steps into this position is now fully aware that he and or she have virtually nothing to say when it comes to foreign policy strategies and or the lack thereof which has been the case as of late.
The signs of this disaster were seen when the JCoS and the ACoS have more influence than their own civilian SecDef–ie even though both voiced a strong couple of statements on Russia that was about it before they shifted gears again towards IS which they never beat before when they had the opportunity.
Maybe the WH should have paid attention to the letter from Hagel concerning Russia and the Ukraine.
Many Americans really fail to remember how the entire world and especially Europe literally slid into WW1 all by bits and pieces and all leaders declaring they did not wanting war.
so much for Putin’s comments yesterday that he was not going to get into geo political games.
#Putin reportedly threatened #Poroshenko with an offensive and demanded recognition for terrorist ”republics“
http://www.theinsider.ua/politics/5476471d8da55/ …
My prediction: Susan Rice, SECDEF
I will take the job.
If someone could just get me the link to the White House HR rep for Cabinet Secretaries.