Rapid Fire Feb. 13, 2013: Hagel | SOTU | DID Feedback Loop

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* Debate in the full US senate about the nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense should start today, following yesterday’s far from consensual approval (14-11 following party lines) in the Armed Services Committee. In all likelihood Hagel will be confirmed, threats of a Republican filibuster or not, but he will start his tenure with a wobbly image, in contrast with John Kerry’s shoo-in as Secretary of State. SASC | NYT. * In his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced the withdrawal of 34,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year, or more than half of the current contingent. SOTU 2013 | DoD | Stars & Stripes. * Donald Gene Garst, a former employee of a company contracted by the Pentagon at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a $52K fine for smuggling kickbacks he obtained in return for favoring a construction subcontractor. As a clue in hindsight on the defendant’s character, Garst was told by the state of Kansas to stop shady brokering practices [PDF] a decade ago. US Department of Justice | Topeka Capital-Journal. * Defense News reports – without naming sources – that Finmeccanica subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi fired Alan Calegari, […]

* Debate in the full US senate about the nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense should start today, following yesterday’s far from consensual approval (14-11 following party lines) in the Armed Services Committee. In all likelihood Hagel will be confirmed, threats of a Republican filibuster or not, but he will start his tenure with a wobbly image, in contrast with John Kerry’s shoo-in as Secretary of State. SASC | NYT.

* In his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced the withdrawal of 34,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year, or more than half of the current contingent. SOTU 2013 | DoD | Stars & Stripes.

* Donald Gene Garst, a former employee of a company contracted by the Pentagon at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a $52K fine for smuggling kickbacks he obtained in return for favoring a construction subcontractor. As a clue in hindsight on the defendant’s character, Garst was told by the state of Kansas to stop shady brokering practices [PDF] a decade ago. US Department of Justice | Topeka Capital-Journal.

* Defense News reports – without naming sources – that Finmeccanica subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi fired Alan Calegari, the CEO of its US branch, along with many employees. Calegari had been appointed to that position just a year ago. Meanwhile the Indian Ministry of Defence ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to look into the allegations of corruption that led to yesterday’s arrest of Finmeccanica’s CEO in Italy. Il Corriere della Sierra interprets [in Italian] India’s posture as a downright suspension of payments.

* Some prominent US senators sitting in the Armed Services and/or Foreign Relations committees want to steer American aid to Egypt away from big ticket programs like F-16s and Abrams tanks into counter-insurgency support. Roll Call.

* Between uncooperative customs and dirt roads that get washed away when it rains, the US Defense Logistics Agency is finding it challenging to support AFRICOM, whether they need to haul fuel or repair parts.

* In response to North Korea’s third nuclear test, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they were “firmly opposed” to it, then continued to promote multilateral talks that have proven fruitless since the only party with real leverage over North Korea is China anyway. Yet China insists on solving its many territorial disputes only through bilateral talks despite requests from its neighbors for collective discussions. Funny that. See also Washington Times | UN Security Council | Yonhap.

* US military senior officer assignments keep coming: here’s a batch in the US Army.

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