You Serve At The Pleasure Of The President (The Resignation Of U.S. Secretary Of Defense Hagel)

My Comment: In the past few months many in the Pentagon have been brutal in their commentary and analysis on President Obama's strategy to deal with the Islamic State, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Ebola, Libya, etc.. What made matters worse was that many of these comments were being made public .... and in clear contradiction of stated White House policies and strategies. The White House had to act to assert its authority .... and not surprising they did so today. The result I predict is going to be immediate. Generals/Admirals and their staff .... if they want to continue having a job with the U.S Defense Department .... must "tow the official White House line" .... and I expect all of them will be doing just that. I now expect no more criticisms, no public disagreements, and no opposition to President Obama's war/defense/national security policies. Everyone is now going to "shut-up" .... and even when they are in strong disagreement with the White House .... will remain mute.

Will this serve America's long term national security and defense needs .... I doubt it. Discourse and debate is vital for any policy to be successful .... especially on war/defense/national security issues. Regular readers of this blog know that for the past year I have been critical on this administration's lack of leadership and focus on vital war and defense related issues .... a lack of focus that has resulted in conflicts that could have been easily managed in the past .... into conflicts that now have the potential to gravely impact U.S. national security. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Hagel ... to his credit .... recently recognized this .... and unfortunately for him .... has paid the price for opening his mouth.

It should be noted that there will also be an impact on the international scene .... and the perception of what this resignation means.  America's adversaries now see an American foreign/national security team/policy in disarray ... and will take advantage of it. Case in point .... this resignation was announced immediately after the Iranian nuclear talks ended .... because everyone "in the know" knew that if this resignation was announced this past Friday .... the Iranians would have immediately shifted their stand in the talks. Russia, Ukraine, China, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Islamic State .... everyone is now looking at the U.S. .... and are calculating how to take advantage of the present situation. My prediction .... the next few weeks are going to be tense in some parts of the world.