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      On Iran, Ashton Carter Has Been Hawkish

      On Iran, Ashton Carter Has Been Hawkish

      Neoconservative and other Iran hawks have to be at least somewhat encouraged by Obama's imminent nomination of Ashton Carter as Chuck Hagel's replacement at the Pentagon. Before his service--first as Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, and then as Deputy Secretary of Defense--during Obama's first term, Carter was a stron

      Jim Lobe
      Dec 05, 2014

      Neoconservative and other Iran hawks have to be at least somewhat encouraged by Obama's imminent nomination of Ashton Carter as Chuck Hagel's replacement at the Pentagon. Before his service--first as Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, and then as Deputy Secretary of Defense--during Obama's first term, Carter was a strong advocate of using or threatening to use military force to prevent nuclear non-proliferation. Like Dennis Ross, he had served on the Iran task force of the Bipartisan Policy Center, which produced a report in September 2008 that I described at the time as a roadmap to war. It was reportedly drafted by one of the architects of the Iraq invasion and occupation, Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, and overseen by Michael Makovsky, then director of foreign policy at the BPC, and currently CEO of the ultra-hawkish Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.

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      Hagel: Military Must Be 'Pro-Active' in Addressing 'Threat Multiplier'of Climate Change

      Hagel: Military Must Be 'Pro-Active' in Addressing 'Threat Multiplier'of Climate Change

      Military must be ready at all times for 'instability,' Defense Secretary says

      Nadia Prupis
      Oct 13, 2014

      Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday issued a call to arms to the military to confront climate change, as rising sea levels and other threats could impair the military's operations and "sow the seeds of instability... from the spread of infectious diseases to spurring armed conflicts."

      Addressing the Pentagon's new report on the issue at the Conference of the Defense Ministers of the Americas in Peru, Hagel said the Defense Department and other military services must start creating plans to deal with the possible effects of climate change on more than 7,000 bases and facilities around the world. Hagel expressed concern that rising sea levels could damage the military's regional training ranges and critical equipment. "Our militaries' readiness could be tested, and our capabilities could be stressed," he said.

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      Vietnam Veterans Against the War march in Philadelphia in 1970.

      Why War? It's a Question Americans Should Be Asking

      Gregory Daddis
      Oct 05, 2014

      As the United States charges once more into war, little debate has centered on the actual utility of war. Instead, policymakers and pundits have focused their comments on combating the latest danger to our nation and its interests as posed by Islamic State militants.

      "War has not left us with a more stable international environment. And it seems increasingly incapable of deterring future war. "In late August, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel claimed Islamic State was an "imminent threat to every interest we have" and that the sophisticated group was "beyond anything we've seen." With few dissenting voices, either in Congress or in the American media, U.S. air forces plunged again into the unstable region of the Middle East. The only remaining deliberation, it seemed, was whether "boots on the ground" were necessary to dismantle and defeat this new threat to democracy and freedom.

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