Les Aspin (Clinton SecDef → Last Supper Host)
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A defense chief served barely a year but set the rules for the arms industry for the next 30 years.
Who they are
Bill Clinton's first Secretary of Defense, a longtime Wisconsin congressman.
What they do
In the engine's read, he co-launched the policy that shrank and merged the U.S. defense industry after the Cold War.
How it works
As a Wisconsin Democrat and House Armed Services chairman, he became Defense Secretary in January 1993, and that July co-hosted the famous 'Last Supper' dinner with deputy William Perry that told defense firms to merge. He resigned in February 1994, blamed for the Black Hawk Down disaster in Somalia but also under heavy fire for the consolidation policy, and died in May 1995.
Why it matters
Even in a short tenure, one dinner-table directive reshaped the entire arms industry for decades.
The engine's record — word for word
Report #87. Wisconsin Democratic Congressman 1971-1993, Chairman House Armed Services Committee 1985-1993, **Clinton's first Secretary of Defense Jan 1993 - Feb 1994.** **Co-hosted the July 21 1993 Last Supper** with Deputy Secretary William Perry, directing the post-Cold War defense-industry consolidation. Aspin resigned February 1994 (ostensibly over Battle of Mogadishu Black Hawk Down failure but more broadly under heavy criticism for the consolidation policy). Died May 1995. Despite short SecDef tenure, the Last Supper directive he co-issued reshaped the defense-industrial substrate for the next 30 years.
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