Subject: Morning Brief: Defense Secretary Hagel Resigns Under Pressure
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 09:27:51 -0500 (EST)

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TOP NEWS

Defense Secretary Hagel Resigns Under Pressure

Defense Secretary Hagel Resigns Under Pressure

 <p>  <b>Washington:</b>  Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXfA2867 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">resigned</a>  on Monday in a White House shakeup prompted by escalating challenges abroad and  a Republican surge in the midterm elections. Hagel's resignation was also  reportedly spurred by weeks of rising internal tensions at the White House over  issues including delays in releasing prisoners from the U.S. facility in  Guantanamo Bay and a disagreement with National Security Advisor Susan Rice  about the administration's Syria policy. There were also <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXgA74c7 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">concerns</a>  about his ability to lead the Pentagon in the escalating war against the  Islamic State.  </p><br><p>  The dismissal has been <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank" href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHR6lMPo-rO8yQj1Afa47>criticized</a>  as evidence of dysfunction within the Obama White House, as Hagel had failed to  penetrate the president's tight inner circle, and the administration has  struggled to elucidate a clear strategy for U.S. action in an increasingly  tumultuous Middle East. "The Obama administration is now in the market for  their fourth secretary of defense," <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXfA2867 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">said</a>  Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon &nbsp;(R-Calif.). "When  the president goes through three secretaries, he should ask, 'Is it them, or is  it me?'"  </p><br><p>  The president tapped Hagel for the job two years ago with  the mandate to bring American troops home from Afghanistan and manage the  Pentagon in an era of shrinking budgets. Hagel's replacement has not yet been  named, but former Under Secretary of Defense Mich&egrave;le A. Flournoy, and former  Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter have both reportedly <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXfA2867 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">being  considered</a> for the position. The secretary will stay on until his successor  was confirmed.  </p><br><p>  <b>Nuclear Negotiations:  </b>Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXhA6417 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">denounced</a>  western countries involved in negotiations over the country's nuclear program  and corresponding sanctions just a day after the deadline for talks was  extended by seven months. "In the nuclear issue, America and colonial European  countries got together and did their best to bring the Islamic Republic to its  knees, but they could not do so -- and they will not be able to do so," said  during a meeting with Muslim clerics on Tuesday.   </p><br><p>  The criticisms were echoed by deputy speaker of the Iranian  Parliament, Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard, who said, "A lesson can be taken  from the recent nuclear talks that, for various reasons, the U.S. is not  reliable." The supreme leader's remarks implied that he would continue to  support the talks, though he remained pessimistic about their outcome.   </p><br> 
 
  Africa  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Two female suicide bombers in Nigeria <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXiAc4bd style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">killed</a>   at least 30 people in the northeast city of Maiduguri.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Two out of three victims of human trafficking in Africa are <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXjA6d44 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">children</a>,   according to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.    </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Workers responsible for burying victims of Ebola in Sierra   Leone <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXkAce79 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">dumped</a> 15   bodies at the main hospital in the city of Kenema after not being paid   agreed-upon increased wages.   </p><br>  </ul>     
  Middle East  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   The secularist Tunisian leader Beji Caid Essebsi came in first in   the country's presidential election with nearly 40 percent of the vote. The   race will be <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXlA267b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">decided</a>   in a run-off in December.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Three Arab men were <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXmA2dd5 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">arrested</a>   in Jerusalem in connection with the stabbing of two Jewish men, continuing the   violence that has troubled the city for a month.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Yemeni special forces <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXnAf144 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">freed seven Yemenis   and a U.S. serviceman</a> who had been held hostage by a group affiliated with   al Qaeda.   </p><br>  </ul>     
  Europe  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   The world has grown to see Europe as "<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXoA64ce style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">somewhat elderly and   haggard</a>," said Pope Francis during a speech to the European   Parliament. He also called for a unified response to the migrant crisis,   asserting, "We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery."   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   After some 14,000 migrants have attempted to scale fences   protecting the Spanish enclaves in Africa, Melilla and Ceuta, human rights   groups have <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXpAc925 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">challenged</a>   where the border is drawn.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   New legislation would allow British police to <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXqA2f1b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">seize   the passports</a> of British citizens and foreigners who are suspected of   travelling to participate in terrorist activities.   </p><br>  </ul>     
  Americas  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced he would send   additional National Guard troops to Ferguson to quell unrest after a grand jury   <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXrA1e2c style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">declined   to indict</a> the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in   August.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Hackers <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXsAa747 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">attacked</a>   the websites of Canada's Supreme Court, Parliament, the Ottawa and Toronto   police forces, and the city of Ottawa.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   The United States Security and Exchange Commission <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXtAf9ad style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">subpoenaed</a>   Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras.   </p><br>  </ul>     
  Asia  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   At least 10 pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong were <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXuA653c style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">arrested</a> following   scuffles with police as they attempted to dismantle a protest site.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Thai democracy <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXvA4e6b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">won't   return</a> anytime soon, says Thongchai Winichakul, a leading scholar of Thai   history.   </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Seven students of the jailed ethnic Uighur professor Ilham   Tohti were brought to trial on <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c720rxl.2fqm/VHSRZcPocp99MAXwA2fd5 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">charges   of separatism</a> in western China.   </p><br>  </ul>     
- By Thomas Stackpole 

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