What do you think: Who should replace Gates?
Published: August 16, 2010
It'll be months before Defense Secretary Robert Gates starts talking seriously about stepping down from his cabinet post, but news that he's looking at a 2011 departure date has already started the question of who's next in the capital and the Pentagon.
The folks over at Foreign Policy magazine have the most frequently mentioned names for the job: Under Secretary of Defense for policy Michèle Flournoy, Center for Strategic and International Studies president John Hamre, CIA Director Leon Panetta, and former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig. They also mention Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a dark horse, although that move seems unlikely.
But those are just the likely candidates. Who is your pick for the next defense secretary? Someone with the same temperament and vision as Gates? Or someone more like former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld? And what kind of person is best for the challenges still ahead for the military after 2011?
Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
UPDATE: Don't let the cooler heads over at Danger Room spoil your speculating fun. Gates has to retire someday, doesn't he?
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