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 Ashton Carter, a former Pentagon No. 2, heads to the Senate for a
9:30 a.m. confirmation hearing that is expected to be far smoother
than the one that badly damaged outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel's political stature two years ago.
But Carter is hardly going to get an easy ride, with key Republicans
in the Senate Armed Services Committee sharply critical of Obama's
drawdown schedule in Afghanistan as well his limits on U.S. military
actions in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.
"I think he's well qualified. He's going to have to do well. He's
going to have to defend the president, but not to a fault," Senator
Lindsey Graham, a key committee member, told Reuters.
Carter was nominated to become Obama's fourth defense secretary
after Hagel resigned under pressure last year, raising questions
over whether the 60-year-old technocrat would be able break into
Obama's tight-knit inner circle. Hagel remains in the job until his
successor is confirmed.
In an opening statement Carter is due to read on Wednesday morning,
obtained by Reuters, he promised to give Obama his "most candid
strategic advice" about the dangers ahead.
 Carter also said in written answers to questions due to be publicly
released on Wednesday that he's willing to consider recommending
changes to Obama's drawdown plans in Afghanistan next year, should
conditions deteriorate.
That could appeal to some Republicans who criticize Obama for
setting drawdown targets based on what they say is a political
calendar instead of security after 13 years of war.
Carter also expressed interest in expanding counter-terrorism
cooperation with Pakistan and advancing efforts to arm and integrate
Sunni tribal forces into Iraq's battle against Islamic State
militants.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Carter will depart from
longstanding Obama administration positions. Carter is an
administration insider who has toiled away in high-ranking positions
within the Pentagon in recent years.
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His roles include deputy defense secretary -- the Pentagon's No. 2
job -- from 2011 to 2013 and the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer from
2009-11 when he led a major restructuring of the F-35 fighter jet
program.
"I would think we will see more of continuity than we will see
divergence," said William Perry, a former U.S. defense secretary and
mentor to Carter.
Carter’s hearing will be closely watched by Lockheed Martin Corp,
Boeing Co and other big weapons makers, which are waiting for clues
about Carter's priorities and his commitment to new procurement
programs, including a new long-range bomber and the Air Force One
replacement.
Like Hagel, Carter criticized across-the-board spending cuts imposed
by Congress but also singled out the need for greater reform of
defense spending, already underway.
"I cannot suggest support and stability for the defense budget
without at the same time frankly noting that not every defense
dollar is spent as well as it should be," he says in prepared
opening remarks.
(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Andrea Shalal;
editing by Stuart Grudgings)
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