Obama decides to sack Defense Secretary Hagel: report

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to sack Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to bring in a new defense chief better capable of coping with the fight against the militant group Islamic State, a news report said Monday.

Obama is expected to announce Hagel's departure later Monday, the New York Times reported. After a series of meetings over the past two weeks, Obama asked Hagel to step down Friday, the report said, citing unidentified administration officials.

The decision is a recognition that the threat from the Islamic State would require a different kind of skills than those that Hagel was brought on to employ to manage the withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan and a shrinking defense budget, the paper quoted administration officials as saying.

Hagel, a Republican, came into office in late February last year.

Administration officials have already been speculating over who will succeed Hagel, the report said. Candidates include Michele Flournoy, the former under secretary of defense; Senator Jack Reed (D-RI); and Ashton B. Carter, a former deputy secretary of defense, it said.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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