Opinion: How Many Defense Secretaries Do I Need To Fire To Strengthen Our Military?
The following is a guest article written by the President Barack Obama.
My fellow Americans, thank you for sharing your time with me today.
It is with profound and sad joy that I am announcing the departure of the last dissenting voice from my cabinet, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Now, we all know Chuck. I brought him on back in 2012 to replace Leon Panetta, who kept recommending plausible strategies and effective budgets.
Now let me be clear: I respect disagreement, but I will not tolerate it in my cabinet. So, during our retreat with honor from Iraq and Afghanistan, former-Sen. Hagel stepped in to provide critical leadership.
We all knew Chuck was a Vietnam vet, and that kind of experience is just what we needed. Then, well, ISIL happened.
Now, let me be clear, ISIL — which I must point out does not represent Islam in any way, shape, or form — has arisen in the power vacuum that Chuck singlehandedly created under what some folks might call "my orders."
Hagel suggested that we put boots …
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