The fight between US President Donald Trump and the Pentagon resulted in five defense secretaries over four years, and the upcoming nomination of President-elect Joe Biden becomes extremely important given the vulnerable situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Various media reports, including the Associated Press, have suggested that Biden is expected to select a woman to head the Pentagon and that Michele Flournoy is being viewed as the best fit for the job.
Flournoy, who helped lead the Obama-Biden transition team at the Department of Defense, served as undersecretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration from February 2009 to February 2012. The 59-year-old former government official also served in the Clinton administration. as Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction and Assistant Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy.
Flournoy was born in California and earned a BA in Social Studies from Harvard University and an MA in International Relations from Balliol College, University of Oxford. She co-founded the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where she currently sits on the board. For several years, she was a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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If nominated and confirmed, Flournoy would face a daunting task of managing troops in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Last month, Trump claimed that all US troops stationed in Afghanistan will leave the war-torn country by Christmas, undermining claims by US diplomats that the troop reductions would be based on the Taliban’s commitment to the peace deal. signed in February.
The United States is witnessing the worst phase of the coronavirus pandemic and the next defense secretary could possibly face a reduction in the Pentagon’s budget and the task of deploying the military to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine. During a conference in March, Flournoy had said that a lot of work will be needed over several years to regain trust and prestige among international partners.
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