I’d written a rather different post before, simply updating to link to Josh Foust’s >critique on Registan. The original post was a paean to Chuck Hagel and link to the Afghanistan Study Group report; at this point, I’ll invert it and say the Registan post should be your main entrée into the ASG report.
At any rate, courtesy Steve Clemons @ The Washington Note (an inveterate Hagel booster, with good reason), see Washington Diplomat’s profile/interview of Hagel.
I’d hoped Hagel would be Obama’s initial pick for SecDef or State (but was not entirely disappointed with the way things shook out after all), perhaps as the token Cabinet Republican. We know Gates is leaving, and the departure of Jim Jones sounds likely. Hagel would be a good pick for either role; or, take Hillary’s chair were she to move laterally.