Lloyd Austin is the Right Choice for Defense Secretary.
| Opinion
WESLEY CLARK
'President-elect Joe Biden has made an inspired choice in selecting retired general Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense in his administration. Ever since I entered West Point in 1962, and after 38 years in uniform and 20 years as a retired general, political candidate and businessman, I've learned a lot about this powerful, difficult position. Lloyd Austin is the right person for the job at this time.
It is a job that comes with great responsibilities. The secretary of defense, along with the president, represents the National Command Authority—think nuclear weapons, deterrence, retaliation, crises and response, war and peace and everything in between. In these responsibilities, the secretary must work closely with both the president and vice president, of course, but also other cabinet members, and especially the secretary of state and national security advisor.
The defense secretary oversees the largest discretionary budget in government, over $700 billion. Gen. Austin will be responsible for the welfare and service of millions of service members and their families—their duties, health, food, shelter and even schooling. He will also be responsible for the military discipline and the military justice system and hundreds of billions of dollars for procurement of everything from milk and bread, jet fuel and household moving expenses to exotic, high-tech weapons and protective systems.
The secretary of defense oversees and directs all ongoing military operations, but is also responsible for looking ahead to the strategic future. The secretary of defense has a deep and sustained relationship with Congress—Congress must approve the Defense Budget and oversees budget execution. Congressional leaders also have specific interests because Department of Defense activities affect virtually every state—jobs, revenues, the environment. The secretary of defense is also a public figure and has an important role in maintaining public understanding and support for defense activities. . .
Lloyd Austin has the experience, skills and character to handle all this. He understands the military—not just the Army—from 40 years of experience. He can be tough, and also compassionate. He has seen all the pushing and shoving inside the Pentagon. He knows all about those weekend meetings and press calls. He has seen the Washington inter-agency struggles first hand as director of the joint staff and Army vice chief of staff. He has demonstrated sound judgment in high command positions faced with the extremely difficult tasks of withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq, and then a few years later, revitalizing relationships there to combat ISIS. He successfully navigated the numerous political and diplomatic pitfalls of the Middle East and the Washington bureaucracy. He has the confidence of the president-elect, and is known and respected by other prospective leaders of the national security establishment. He has the integrity to balance the competing demands of the position—his legal responsibilities, his loyalties and friendships, an immediate crisis versus a longer-term challenge, public image and private realities. Character counts and he has it.'>>>
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