Aspin, Les, Jr.

▪ 1996

      U.S. politician (b. July 21, 1938, Milwaukee, Wis.—d. May 21, 1995, Washington, D.C.), was a Democrat from Wisconsin who won election in 1970 to the U.S. House of Representatives as an opponent of the Vietnam War. Later, while serving (1985-92) as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, he supported the development of the multi-warhead MX missile and U.S. funding for the contra rebels attempting to overthrow the Marxist government in Nicaragua. Aspin also served as Pres. Bill Clinton's embattled defense secretary for 11 months until his resignation in 1994. In the latter post Aspin gained a reputation for indecisiveness. While attempting to implement Clinton's campaign promise to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military, Aspin developed the unsatisfactory "don't ask, don't tell" compromise. He broadened the combat role of women and was widely praised for his initiative to restructure the U.S. military in a post-Cold War climate, but he failed to fortify U.S. troops in Somalia just weeks before 18 U.S. soldiers died there in a raid, an inaction that led to his resignation under pressure. Aspin, who earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, served as one of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's "whiz kids" at the Pentagon. He then returned to Wisconsin and was elected to the House of Representatives. After earning a position on the Armed Services Committee, Aspin made a name for himself by issuing frequent bulletins about financial mismanagement in the Pentagon. At the time of his death, Aspin was chairman of the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a committee established to scrutinize U.S. intelligence agencies.

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