NEW YORK, November 25 (Sputnik) – Following his resignation as US defense secretary, Chuck Hagel should come clean to the public about his concerns over US foreign policy, Jerry Boykin, Family Research Council executive vice president, has said.
"Once Secretary Hagel leaves his position, he should speak out about the impact of the President Barack Obama's policies on military readiness as well as his feckless foreign policy. It would be wrong to wait, like his predecessors, until a book deal comes along," Boykin said in a statement Monday.
Hagel, 68, a Vietnam war veteran and former Republican senator for his home state of Nebraska, resigned as the US defense secretary on Monday after less than two years in the top military post. Last month, he criticized US strategy against Islamic State and in relation to the Syria regime.
"The American people deserve and have a right to hear the truth about the damage the president's policies have inflicted on the military. We can't wait any longer to restore the readiness of our military. Our national security depends upon it," added Boykin.
Obama did not name a replacement defense chief on Monday. Potential nominees include former deputy defense secretary Ashton Carter and Michele Flournoy, a one-time Pentagon policy chief. Once named, the nominee would have to be confirmed by the Senate.