Secretary Of Defense

First, critics went after U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and unfairly short-circuited her candidacy to be secretary of State. Now, a similar campaign is being waged against former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who reportedly is President Obama's choice to be secretary of Defense. We aren't ready to pronounce Hagel qualified for the position. But once again, just as with Rice, the comments being seized on by his opponents are not sufficient to disqualify him from consideration. There are essentially three counts in the indictment: that he is too eager to reduce Pentagon spending; that as a senator he opposed sanctions against Iran at a time when that country was meddling in Iraq; and that he is hostile to Israel.

Henry Ford II, who took over his grandfather's foundering company at President Franklin D. Roosevelt's urging in 1945 and over 37 years restored Ford Motor Co. to profitability, died today after a battle with pneumonia. He was 70. Ford had been admitted to Henry Ford Hospital on Sept. 12 for treatment of pneumonia, but his condition had deteriorated as he developed heart and kidney problems. He had become ill while in Europe.

1995: Initial Sexual Encounters Monica Lewinsky began her White House employment as an intern in the Chief of Staff's office in July 1995. At White House functions in the following months, she made eye contact with the President. During the November 1995 government shutdown, the President invited her to his private study, where they kissed. Later that evening, they had a more intimate sexual encounter. They had another sexual encounter two days later, and a third one on New Year's Eve. A.

The gig: Craig McNamara is a sustainable farming expert, organic walnut farmer in the Sacramento Valley town of Winters, founder of the nonprofit Center for Land-Based Learning and the California Farm Academy, and president of the state Board of Food and Agriculture, which advises state officials on farming policies. Organic food basket: At his Sierra Orchards, Craig McNamara makes extensive use of pro-environment and conservation techniques as he grows 450 acres of organic walnuts, presses organic olive oil from 150 trees that are more than a century old and helps his son raise hops for a local craft beer.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Friday that he was surprised by the continued ability of Saddam Hussein-backed terrorists to wreak havoc on the people of Iraq five months after the war was declared over. In a lecture at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley, Rumsfeld said it was unfortunate that American soldiers, as well as those from Iraq and other countries, were continuing to die during reconstruction of the nation.

Responding to budget pressures from the White House and Congress, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called Thursday for the largest reduction in the size of U.S. ground forces since the Sept. 11 attacks. The Army and Marine Corps would shrink by as many as 47,000 troops starting in 2015, saving $6 billion as part of $78 billion in budget cuts outlined by Gates at a Pentagon news conference. U.S. forces are to be entirely out of Iraq and are hoped to be drawing down in Afghanistan by that time, Gates said.

In 1987, Robert L. Earl told a grand jury that he had destroyed and stolen national security documents while working for Lt. Col. Oliver L. North during the Iran-Contra scandal. Now, he sits in one of the most coveted offices in the Pentagon as chief of staff to Gordon R. England, acting deputy secretary of Defense. Earl has clearance to review the kinds of classified documents he once destroyed.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The often-volatile U.S. relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai grew increasingly strained Sunday as Karzai accused the United States and Taliban insurgents of having a secret understanding to foment violence as a pretext to keep foreign troops in Afghanistan. The comments were the latest - and perhaps the most baffling - broadside by the mercurial Afghan leader against one of his nation's closest allies, leaving U.S. officials privately fuming and publicly struggling to limit the fallout.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday that security gains seen in parts of Afghanistan over the last year represented a "turning point" in the decade-old conflict. "We're moving in the right direction and we're winning this very tough conflict in Afghanistan," he told troops of the U.S. Army's 172nd Infantry Brigade at Forward Operating Base Sharana, about 30 miles from the Afghan-Pakistani border. U.S. officials generally have not explicitly claimed to be winning the conflict, mindful of insurgent attacks that continue to exact a heavy civilian toll, the stubborn resilience of the Taliban and other militant groups, Washington's deteriorating relations with Pakistan and the political woes of the administration of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.