Politico features the Atlantic Council event “Reflections of a Former Secretary of Defense,” quoting Atlantic Council Distinguished Statesman and former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on President Barack Obama’s handling of national security issues:
The former defense secretary, who slammed President Barack Obama’s leadership in an interview last month with Foreign Policy magazine, again knocked his handling of national-security issues in a discussion last night hosted by the Atlantic Council. Obama’s White House, Hagel said, has sought to dominate its Cabinet members — echoing criticisms leveled by Obama’s two other former defense secretaries, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta. Hagel noted, though, that every president he’s observed has sought to dominate the Cabinet.
“If you want to bring in the best people, you’re not going to get the best people if they think they’re going to be constantly second-guessed, overloaded with micromanagement,” Hagel said, adding the “best people” don’t want to waste their time in “endless meetings” at the White House. “All the policy is made out of the White House,” he said.