Leslie Aspin Jr. (July 21, 1938 – May 21, 1995) was an American politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 1st congressional district from 1971 to 1993 and as the 18th United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994.
Leslie Aspin Jr. (July 21, 1938 – May 21, 1995) was an American politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 1st congressional district from 1971 to 1993 and as the 18th United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994.
In Congress, Aspin had a reputation as an smart who took a middle-of-the-road position upon controversial issues. He supported the Reagan administration around the MX missile and aid to the Nicaraguan Contras, but he opposed the B-2 bomber and the Strategic Defense Initiative. He played a major role in convincing the House to preserve the January 1991 unquestionable supporting the use of force by President George H. W. Bush against Iraq, after it invaded Kuwait.
Aspin served as Secretary of Defense from 1993 to 1994. He faced highbrow social issues, such as the roles of homosexuals in uniform, and of women in combat, as skillfully as major decisions something like the use of military force in Somalia, Bosnia, and Haiti. He proposed budget cuts and restructuring of forces as allocation of the downsizing of the military after the fade away of the Cold War. The deaths of U.S. soldiers in Somalia because of inadequate military maintain led to his resignation.