America
Ashton Carter sworn in as Obama's new defence secretary
Washington, Feb 17
Ashton Carter was sworn in
Tuesday as the 25th US defense secretary -the fourth in US President
Barack Obama's six years in office.
After taking the helm, he
will have to tackle mounting issues, such as the fight against the
extremist group Islamic State (IS) and a decision on whether to arm the
Ukrainian forces with lethal weapons.
Carter's inauguration also
came at a time when the Yemeni government, a key US Middle East partner
in fighting Al Qaeda, was on the verge of collapse, threatening US
counter-terrorism strategy across the region, according to Xinhua.
At
his Feb 4 Senate Armed Service Committee hearing, Carter, a former
deputy defense secretary described the work that lies ahead for him and
Pentagon as unprecedented.
"I think we are in a time where the number and severity of risks is something I've not seen before in my life," he said.
Another
challenge for Carter will come from the US Congress on the 2016
Pentagon budget. The Obama administration recently sought a base defence
budget of $534 billion when it sent its 2016 spending request to
Congress, $35 billion more than a federal budget cap imposed in 2011.