U.S. Defense Chief Candidate Would Face Immediate Tests in Iraq, Ukraine

Ashton Carter, the Yale-trained physicist poised to lead the Pentagon, will face immediate challenges in Iraq and Ukraine that will test his willingness to push more aggressive military strategies that President Barack Obama might oppose.

Mr. Carter is all but assured of Senate support. But his confirmation hearing on Wednesday is expected to be a high-profile platform for the committee, newly under Republican control, to question the administration’s national security strategy.

Once he takes over at the Pentagon, which could be next week, Mr. Carter will confront a series of decisions about whether to deepen the U.S. military role in fighting Islamic State forces in the Middle East and to expand America’s support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian-backed separatists.

Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal.