Obama to name Hagel as Defense Secretary: reports

 WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to name former senator Chuck Hagel to serve as his next Defense¹ Secretary, and the announcement could come early next week, U.S. reports said Friday.

Media outlets² such as CNN, Foreign Policy magazine, all quoted government sources as saying the announcement could come on Monday or Tuesday. White House officials would not confirm the reports.

Hagel's name has been floated as a potential Defense nominee³ last month, but was met with resistance from pro-Israel groups. Several Republican senators have also voiced their opposition⁴. Hagel has made comments that the "Jewish lobby" intimidated⁵ people in Washington, and has expressed willingness to engage diplomatically with Hamas and Iran.

Hagel was also faced with criticism from gay rights groups over comments he made in 1998 about a gay ambassadorial nominee. Hagel apologized for those comments.

Obama defended Hagel in an interview last week, saying there was nothing that disqualified Hagel from being selected.

Hagel, 66, is a moderate Republican. He served for two terms from 1997 to 2009 as senator for Nebraska, and is now chairperson for President's Intelligence Advisory⁶ Board. Other contenders for the Pentagon post were said to be Michele Flournoy, former defense undersecretary for policy, and Ashton Carter, deputy defense secretary, reports have indicated.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。