Kosovo friend Albright receives an important assignment at Pentagon

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was sworn in as the new chairman of the Defence Policy Board on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced. This appointment comes almost a year after the Trump administration dismissed him and other national security experts from this advisory committee, CNN writes.

Albright is the first board chairman since Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin began his review of the Pentagon's advisory committees earlier this year. In early February, Austin dismissed hundreds of members of 42 department boards and committees, including members who were appointed in the last days of the Trump administration.

After the loss of the 2020 elections, Trump cleared leadership positions by some senior foreign policy and national security experts, including Albright, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and others.

Now, a year after being removed from the Defence Policy Board, 84-year-old Albright will return as his chairman. She served as the first female secretary of state from 1997-2001.

“Under the leadership of Secretary Austin, the Department is adapting to the changing nature of the war and is working to stand before any potential opponent”, Albright said in a statement. I expect to co-operate with my colleagues in the DPB to offer our independent advice on the full range of policy issues facing the Department. ”

So far, Albright is the only member of the Defence Policy Board, according to the Defence Department website.

The Defence Policy Board is an external advisory group of former national security high-profile officials who “give Defence Secretary and Deputy Defence Secretary, independent councils and opinions informed of defence policy issues in response to specific tasks appointed by its Secretary of Defence and Deputy Defence Secretary”, it says on its page.