Former U.S. senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) is at the top of President Obama’s list for the next secretary of defense, according to a report by Bloomberg News. Rumors of a Hagel appointment have circulated for some time; Foreign Policy’s Josh Rogin reported two weeks ago that Hagel was being vetted for State or Defense. And now comes news that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration for secretary of state, making both the State and Defense jobs a little less competitive. Any candidate for either job is likely to face scrutiny for their position on Iran, so it’s worth evaluating what Hagel’s said so far. And the picture is not totally clear.
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