美國國防部長哈格爾辭職
Chuck Hagel has resigned as defence secretary in a major shake-up to a US national security team that has been beset by crises around the world.
查克•哈格爾(Chuck Hagel)已辭去美國國防部長職務。疲於應付世界各地危機的美國國家安全領導班子經受了重大改組。President Barack Obama has faced considerable pressure to reshuffle his senior national security officials against a backdrop of widespread criticism that the administration has fumbled its response to crises from Ukraine to Iraq.
巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)總統近來面臨相當大的壓力，要求改組他的高級國家安全官員。目前的大背景是，奧巴馬政府受到廣泛的批評，被指搞砸了對從烏克蘭到伊拉克的一個又一個危機的迴應。
The only Republican in Mr Obama’s cabinet, Mr Hagel is the first high-level official to leave the administration after the Democrats were roundly defeated in midterm elections earlier this month and lost control of the Senate.
作爲奧巴馬內閣中唯一的共和黨人，哈格爾是民主黨本月初在中期選舉中全面敗北、失去參議院控制權之後，第一個離開行政當局的高級別官員。
Mr Hagel, whose resignation was announced yesterday morning by Mr Obama, is to remain at the Pentagon until a successor is confirmed.
哈格爾辭職的消息昨日上午由奧巴馬宣佈，他將留在五角大樓，直到繼任者得到確認。The president brought Mr Hagel, a senior former senator, to the Pentagon in 2013 with a brief to manage the withdrawal from Afghanistan and to build political support for cuts to the defence budget. A Vietnam veteran who enlisted for the war and was awarded two purple hearts, Mr Hagel had considerable credibility with the rank-and-file.
奧巴馬在2013年請哈格爾這位資深前參議員執掌五角大樓，其任務是管理美軍從阿富汗撤出，並構建削減國防預算的政治支持。作爲當年應徵入伍參加越戰、並兩次獲得紫心勳章的老兵，哈格爾在美軍官兵中擁有較高威信。However, his low-key approach has been criticised at a time when the US has been pulled back into fighting in Iraq, against the Islamist militants of Isis.
然而，在美軍不得不重返伊拉克作戰、打擊“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)伊斯蘭主義武裝分子之際，他的低調做法受到批評。Reflecting a commonly held view in the Pentagon, Mr Hagel has privately pushed for the administration to do more to confront the Assad regime in Syria as part of the anti-Isis campaign.
哈格爾私下裏力主奧巴馬政府採取更多行動對抗敘利亞的阿薩德政權，作爲打擊ISIS戰役的一部分，這反映了五角大樓普遍持有的觀點。Mr Hagel has acknowledged that the air strikes against Isis in Syria could be boosting the position of the Assad regime forces.
哈格爾承認，對敘利亞境內的ISIS武裝分子發起空中打擊，可能在戰場上有利於阿薩德政權部隊。Military officials have also complained that the White House is eager to micromanage operations against Isis.
軍方官員還抱怨稱，白宮對打擊ISIS的軍事行動管得太細。Mr Obama described Mr Hagel as an “exemplary” secretary of defence who showed “class and integrity”.
奧巴馬形容哈格爾是“模範”國防部長，展現出“水平和誠信”。The resignation leaves Mr Obama looking for his fourth defence secretary. One widely mentioned potential successor is Michèle Flournoy.
哈格爾的辭職意味着奧巴馬將物色任內第四個國防部長。被廣泛提及的潛在繼任者之一是米歇爾•弗盧努瓦(Michèle Flournoy)。She was the third-ranking official at the Pentagon in Mr Obama’s first term and would be the first woman to lead the defence department. Other names discussed include Ashton Carter, former deputy secretary of defence, and Jack Reed, a Democratic senator.
她是奧巴馬第一個任期內的五角大樓三號人物，請她出山將造就首位女性國防部長。其他人選包括前國防部副部長阿什頓•卡特(Ashton Carter)，以及民主黨參議員傑克•裏德(Jack Reed)。The departure of Mr Hagel threatens to set up a stand-off with the new Republican-controlled Congress over his successor.
哈格爾的離去可能使奧巴馬政府與共和黨控制的新一屆國會圍繞他的繼任者陷入對峙。
