This Empire Now under New Management

Republican ex-Senator Hagel in the defense department and terrorism advisor John Brennan at the CIA. Barack Obama is reshaping his personnel lineup for security policy. More pragmatism is the new watchword. Traditional military force will take a backseat, but the war on terror will remain aggressive nonetheless.

Chuck Hagel still carries shrapnel in his chest put there by a Claymore mine that exploded in March 1968 when he was serving in the jungles of Vietnam against the then-national liberation front known as the Viet Cong. In an interview with the Veterans History Project, he related how he made his way, bleeding and on foot, back to his base where his unit waited through the night for the helicopters bearing dead and seriously wounded soldiers to arrive.

Hagel will be the first Vietnam veteran to serve as secretary of defense and his time as a foot soldier deeply influences the Nebraskan. As he told the Veterans History Project, “The people in Washington make the policy, but it’s the little guys who come back in the body bags.” People must consider the consequences before going to war and whether doing so is in the best national interest. Hagel has never exactly fit in with the American security establishment. In 2002, he warned his fellow senators not to expect Iraqis to be dancing in the streets of Baghdad if the U.S. invaded their country. He never bought into the idea that they would be bringing democracy to Iraq. He damaged his standing with other Republicans when he began criticizing George W. Bush’s Iraq policies in ensuing years, especially Bush’s many troop surges beefing up the occupation. Hagel wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan back when that was the minority opinion. As early as 2009, he wrote that the U.S. couldn’t possibly control developments in Iraq in any case.

The Toughest Mission

Today, he warns of a military confrontation with Iran. That angers Republicans who apparently have yet to understand the damage done to America by its intervention against Saddam Hussein. It also enrages the self-styled “friends of Israel” who object to Hagel’s statement, “I’m a United States senator. I’m not an Israeli senator. I support Israel. But my first interest is: I take an oath of office to the constitution of the United States. Not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel.”

Hagel’s most difficult task as defense secretary will be reducing the Pentagon budget since President Obama obviously intends to cut back defense spending and modify strategies. The cost of future wars will be lowered in dollars and via personnel reductions. U.S. forces are to be “robotized” with the use of drones and flexibly deployable special tactical units. As documented by the Washington Post, there are currently elite force units in some 75 countries. To have Obama’s anti-terror adviser, John Brennan, and the CIA take over the drone operation would fit in well with this scenario. Brennan is considered the inspiration for the Obama doctrine that holds that the United States has the right to kill suspected terrorists in other countries—including American citizens. Obama wanted to make Brennan his CIA chief as early as 2009 but that failed due to protests from human rights activists who said that Brennan under George W. Bush was responsible for the targeted killings of those merely suspected of being hostile to the United States. Today, this concern doesn’t appear to be a problem any longer.

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