If there was ever an anti-Chuck Hagel as a candidate for US Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter might be it.

Hagel became President Barack Obama’s third defense secretary following a distinguished Senate career as a Nebraska Republican, and was a nationally known figure who was also a Vietnam veteran.

Pentagon front-runner Carter, quietly supportive of Israel, loud on stopping Iran
By Rebecca Shimoni Stoil – The Times of Israel

If there was ever an anti-Chuck Hagel as a candidate for US Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter might be it.

Hagel became President Barack Obama’s third defense secretary following a distinguished Senate career as a Nebraska Republican, and was a nationally known figure who was also a Vietnam veteran.

Carter, Obama’s top candidate to become Hagel’s successor, has spent nearly four decades in and out of Washington, and in a town with many powerful people working behind untold numbers of closed doors, he managed to make it onto a coveted list of the “most powerful, least famous” people in Washington, DC.

A civilian, Pentagon insider, Harvard professor, and Rhodes scholar, Carter is known in defense circles as an efficient administrator with an effective working relationship with the Pentagon’s top brass, while Hagel was seen as having an adversarial relationship on issues of military budgeting.

Hagel’s nomination in 2013 chafed at some in pro-Israel circles, sparking concern that his Senate confirmation would be held up due to comments he made in the past about the influence of the “pro-Israel lobby.”

Carter, however, is relatively quiet on Israel — at least publicly. But what he has said has been supportive.

His first official trip to Israel was in 2013 — shortly after a visit by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Carter met with Ya’alon, then-national security adviser Yaakov Amidror and Defense Ministry Director Udi Shani, who hosted an official dinner for him.

Observing members of the Oketz IDF Canine Unit, Carter told the soldiers that “protecting America means protecting Israel, and that’s why we’re here in the first place.”

He then described observing the canine unit’s tactical demonstration as “the fun part,” shaking the troops’ hands and distributing commemorative coins from his office.

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