Breaking: WH Officials Say President Obama Has Asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Step Down

[BlueEye]

90. Kerry is far too well established in both the adminstration and...

well, the "establishment" to be vulnerable to the designs of the Likud apologists. I agree completely that Kerry is on their shit list for what most of us agree were rational diplomatic overtures. But you cannot discount the Right's unique dislike for Hagel from Day One. They pounced on his prior statements on Iran and perceived anti-Semetic positions. The Israel lobby is powerful in DC in both the Republican and Democratic parties, and I doubt the anti-Hagel bias ever let up behind the scenes.

Hagel politically alienated himself from the right and left to some extent (remember the "aggressively gay" remarks?), so he had few allies. Once the President grew impatient, Hagel was done.

Regarding the shift... Yes, it's happened. Not as dramatic as neocons would like, but it's there. How many airstrikes in Iraq or Syria were being conducted one year ago? And today? There can be no doubt, the United States has tried to put ISIS on defense after their stunning victories last summer. Thus, by definition, the Obama Administration has adopted an offensive stance. I never said the target was the Assad regime, so perhaps not *as* offensive as the Saudis and various American players (nice way to drag Hillary into this, btw) have argued for, but it is there.

To be clear, I don't entirely disagree with your simplified theory. Hagel has been on the rocks with the Administration for months. But to write this off entirely as a case of Cabinet member burn out ignores the wider picture and the powerful forces at play in any Presidency or DoD.