The skills needed to run the Defense Department have changed in the past two years since Chuck Hagel took the reins, says P.J. Crowley, a former assistant secretary of state for public affairs and Department of State spokesman.
"This is not a job that is for the normal human being and two years is a long time," Crowley, commenting on Hagel's resignation, said Thursday to Rick Ungar, guest host of "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"There are tensions within the national security team at the White House and perhaps the reasons Chuck Hagel took the job two years ago are not necessarily the same skill set that the president needs the next two years because circumstances have changed rather dramatically in the last six months.
"The skill set the president is going to need in the next two years is very different."
That's partly because of the pending turnover from Democratic to Republican leadership in the Senate, according to Crowley, a retired Air Force colonel.
"[President Barack Obama's] foreign policy is going to be significantly challenged," Crowley said.
"Sen. John McCain takes over at the Senate Arms Services Committee and Chuck Hagel is … very soft spoken. Perhaps the president felt he needed a stronger voice in these matters over the next two years."
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