New US Secretary of Defense Forced To Be More Moderate

When Robert Hagel is sworn in, he will officially become the 24th secretary of defense of the U.S.* Some say Hagel will be a more “dove-like” defense secretary. Compared to his predecessor, Panetta, who was known for his aggressive tactics, such as wanting to bring warships to Asia, the more moderate Hagel should put Beijing more at ease. However, this new approach is not due to the personal differences between Panetta and Hagel, but rather due to the differences in economic difficulties that the U.S. faces.

As the first defense secretary to have fought as a soldier in the Vietnam War, Hagel believes that the U.S. must consider other countries as peers, not as inferiors. He believes that the role of the U.S. is to be constantly communicating with the rest of the world, not to dominate it. He says that the U.S. must adopt a leadership role with allies in order to strengthen ties. Otherwise, the power that the U.S. holds will be worthless.

During the Clinton and Bush administrations, the military strategy was to simultaneously fight and win two wars: one in Iraq and another in Afghanistan. Although the U.S. was able to kill Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, they cannot say that they have overcome the Taliban. Although they were able to punish al-Qaida, they also got caught in the crossfire. American scholars say that if the U.S. is to decline just as the United Kingdom and Portugal did in the past, then these two wars might be the tipping point for that transition.

In reality, when Hagel takes charge, the U.S. will not necessarily have any enemies or rivals in the world — and that includes North Korea, India, China and Russia. The military just needs to fabricate one so it will seem like it has a purpose to serve. This new defense secretary’s real fight is with Congress. In his words, he and Congress must join together to do everything they can to eliminate the deficit, which includes cutting the Pentagon’s spending.

In this new fiscal year, the Pentagon must cut $46 billion in spending, which is almost half of China’s military spending. This forces Hagel to take a more moderate approach than Panetta.

*Editor’s note: Chuck Hagel’s first name is not Robert.