Ex-US defence chief blasts Obama on Syria

Source: BBCNews

Former US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has criticised the Obama administration for lacking an overarching policy on Syria.

In an interview with Foreign Policy magazine (FP), Mr Hagel described long, tedious policy meetings that often concluded without decision.

The moderate Republican served as Mr Obama's defence chief for two tumultuous years from 2013 to 2015.

His tenure ended, he said, with backstabbing and character destruction.

Mr Hagel believes that a coherent US strategy for Syria still has not been fleshed out.

"The administration is still struggling with a political strategy, but Secretary Kerry is making some progress toward the right strategy," Mr Hagel tells the magazine, in reference to talks with Russian, Iranian and Arab leaders.

Mr Hagel's tenure in the Obama administration was marked by contention from the start.