The Washington Post today reports an interesting exchange that is said to have happened between the President in his first term, and Chuck Hagel, the nominee to be the next Secretary of Defense.
Bob Woodward writes in the Post that on a visit to the White House in 2009, Hagel warned Obama that he should look out for rogue elements within the Pentagon that were leading a ‘new world order’:
According to an account that Hagel later gave, and is reported here for the first time, he told Obama: “We are at a time where there is a new world order.
“We don’t control it. You must question everything, every assumption, everything they” — the military and diplomats — “tell you. Any assumption 10 years old is out of date. You need to question our role. You need to question the military. You need to question what are we using the military for.”
The Post states that Hagel warned Obama about becoming “bogged down” in the ongoing war in Afghanistan, saying it would define Obama’s first term. Hagel reportedly later privately questioned the wisdom of sending additional troops to join the conflict.
At the time, Obama had announced a proposed deployment of over 50,000 troops to Afghanistan, based on recommendations from the Pentagon.
In response, Hagel is said to have noted “The president has not had commander-in-chief control of the Pentagon since Bush senior was president.”
“If Hagel is confirmed, as appears likely, he and the president will have a large task in navigating this new world order.” The Post report concludes.
The assertion here seems less centered around the concept of ‘new world order’ and more towards the simple notion that the military industrial complex is driving perpetual war for its own ends; not really a major revelation in itself, and more an obvious statement.
Nevertheless, Hagel’s comments make for interesting reading.
However, there is no reason to believe that Obama, as president, would not already be aware of any form of ‘new world order’, be it rogue elements within the Pentagon or a vast elite shadow government structure, if Chuck Hagel, as a Senator, was aware of it.
This all begs the question, if Hagel knows the position of Secretary of Defense carries little meaningful influence over the military top brass, then will he attempt to do anything about it, or will he simply play along with the role?
Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.com, andPrisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.
