WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The Pentagon official in charge of the U.S. military's response to terrorism inside the United States said Monday he is considering stepping down.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Paul McHale told United Press International that he had "considered the possibility of leaving the department," and discussed it with colleagues but that he had "made no final decision."
"Secretary (of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld has reminded me that we are at war, and I want to do everything I can," he said, adding "That moral responsibility weighs especially hard on a day like today," the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Rumsfeld is "a very strong and persuasive man when he looks you in the eye," said McHale.
"This is the best civilian job I've ever had," said the former Marine.
He said he and Rumsfeld "have been in continuing discussions" about his future and that he hoped soon "to make a decision with the secretary's concurrence."
McHale was nominated in January 2003 and confirmed the following month.
McHale, a former Marine, served five terms as a state legislator in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He quit in 1991, following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, when he volunteered to return to active duty with the Marine Corps during the first Gulf War.
After returning in January 1993, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served for three terms before returning to private practice as a lawyer.
