US defense secretary to resign under pressure

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned on Monday, with The New York Times reporting that he was pushed out of office.

Senior administration officials who spoke with The New York Times said the decision to replace Hagel stemmed from the belief that he lacked the necessary skills to manage the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

“The next couple of years will demand a different kind of focus,” an official told The New York Times.

Hagel, a former Republican senator, has served as Pentagon chief since early 2013.

Obama officially announced the resignation Monday, saying it was an “appropriate time” for him to complete his service.

Hagel has had a rocky tenure of nearly two years in which he’s struggled to break through the White House’s insular foreign policy team. He stepped down under pressure amid multiple foreign policy crises, including the rise of the Islamic State group.

But in remarks at the White House Monday, Obama called Hagel “an exemplary defense secretary” and steady hand for strategy and budget. Obama said he was grateful that Hagel had always “given it to me straight.”

Speaking at the White House after submitting his resignation letter Monday, Hagel said he was “immensely proud” of what was accomplished during his tenure.

Hagel said the US had prepared itself, its allies and Afghanistan’s military for a successful transition. He said the US had strengthened alliances and partnerships overseas while responding successfully to global crisis, and that the Pentagon had launched important reforms that will prepare the military for future challenges.

Reacting to the news, Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon released a statement calling Hagel “a true friend of Israel” who contributed greatly to Israel’s security and its ties with the United States.

A senior defense official said that Hagel submitted his resignation letter to Obama on Monday morning and the president accepted it. Hagel agreed to remain in office until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, the official said.

The official insisted on anonymity because this person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly ahead of Obama’s official announcement.

The official said that both Hagel and Obama “determined that it was time for new leadership in the Pentagon.” The official added that they had been discussing the matter over a period of several weeks.

The White House did not give any clue who might be Hagel’s eventual replacement at the Pentagon, but The New York Times cited three candidates.

Former under-secretary of defense Michele Flournoy is said to be in the running, along with Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island — a former army officer — and former deputy secretary of defense Ashton Carter.

Hagel, as a Republican senator, voted in favor of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, but later became a critic of the drawn-out conflict that ensued and was taken on by Obama early last year to oversee the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

Hagel’s experience as a non-commissioned officer who saw action in Vietnam was seen as a strength as he took on the job, but his public appearances have often appeared clumsy or underwhelming as the US administration struggled to adapt to new conflicts.

“Over the past two years, Secretary Hagel helped manage an intense period of transition for the United States Armed Forces, including the drawdown in Afghanistan, the need to prepare our forces for future missions, and tough fiscal choices to keep our military strong and ready,” the official said.

A critic of Israel

Before he assumed office in the Pentagon, Hagel was known as a critic of Israel and of American policy toward the Jewish state. He criticized the Bush administration in 2002 for refusing to meet with late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and rebuked Israel for not engaging in negotiations with an Arafat-led Palestinian Authority.

“Israel must take steps to show its commitment to peace,” he wrote in the Washington Post at the time. “This does not mean giving up or limiting its right to self-defense against terrorism. But Palestinian reformers cannot promote a democratic agenda for change while both the Israeli military occupation and settlement activity continue.”

During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hagel broke party ranks by calling for an immediate unilateral ceasefire by both Israel and Hezbollah.

“The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now,” the then-senator from Nebraska said. “President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop.”

Hagel, a Vietnam veteran, was also an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s foreign policy vis-à-vis Iraq, and rebuked his party’s approval for deploying more troops later in the war.

“There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there,” he wrote in the Washington Post in 2006. “The time for more US troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to Iraq.”

Once he became defense secretary, however, Hagel’s tone changed on Israel.

Israel is “a model for the world, and the relationship between our two countries… is as strong as it’s ever been,” Hagel said during his first trip to Israel while in office. “This is a difficult and dangerous time. This is a time when friends and allies must remain close, closer than ever. I’m committed to continue to strengthen this relationship.

Ilan Ben Zion contributed to this report.