What Would Ash Carter Do?

10 questions the Senate should ask the next secretary of defense.

As you might imagine, those of us who work at Harvard's Kennedy School are pleased that our former colleague Ash Carter has been nominated to be the next secretary of defense. Ash and I don't agree on certain aspects of U.S. foreign and defense policy (for example, he's favored a more hard-line approach to Iran's nuclear program than I would), but he was a terrific colleague and is well-qualified for the job. He's formidably smart, tough, genuinely patriotic, and has enormous experience and knowledge about defense issues. I don't envy him this new post, but I support his nomination and wish him well as he confronts some big challenges.

Like all Cabinet nominees, Ash now faces a confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate. The confirmation process has gone badly off the rails in recent years, but the idea of having the Senate vet presidential appointees is a good one....

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