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Biden's CENTCOM pick to head Pentagon raises concern over civilian leadership

Gen. Lloyd Austin has emerged as the president-elect's likely pick over former Pentagon policy chief Michele Flournoy.
Gen. Lloyd Austin III, commander of U.S. Central Command, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the ongoing U.S. military operations to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 16, 2015 in Washington, DC.

US President-elect Joe Biden is set to name retired four-star Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the former head of US Central Command, to oversee the Pentagon, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Al-Monitor.

Austin, who formerly commanded all US forces in the Middle East during the Barack Obama administration, would be the first Black defense secretary in US history.

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