Chuck Hagel is the President’s nominee to be the Secretary of Defense. A former Republican Senator, he was a possible Obama VP and Secretary of Defense candidate in 2008. This apostasy will guarantee a circus at his Senate confirmation hearings.
Chuck Hagel – twice wounded Vietnam vet. Is he about to be swift-boated?
The Republicans have already claimed that Hegel is too soft on Iran and too hard on Israel – and incompetent, after he called the “surge” in Iraq the “the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.”
But the thing that makes the right most nervous is his commitment to a smaller military and his reluctance to go to war. That threatens the gravy train. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed $1 trillion to military/industrial complex - frosting on the cake of the Pentagon’s regular budget.
Democrats are not unified in his support. Many are incensed over remarks he made to the Omaha World-Herald in 1998 over the appointment of an openly gay Ambassador.
“Ambassadorial posts are sensitive. They are representing America. They are representing our lifestyle, our values, our standards. And I think it is an inhibiting factor to be gay — openly, aggressively gay like Mr. Hormel — to do an effective job”.
He apologized for those remarks a month ago.
But for some gays that was insufficient. The Log Cabin Republicans (a conservative gay group) said it was “too little, too late”. But that smacks of political expediency – after all they have hitched their political fortunes to a party that is comfortable with calling gays “sinners” – which is further than Hagel ever went.
To today’s ears Hagel’s words seem radically bigoted. But in 1998 there was no civil unions, DOMA had just been enacted – signed into law by a democratic President – and the majority of Americans were opposed to gay marriage. Hagel’s position would have been seen as mainstream.
Hagel has been criticized for his position on Israel. But what is germane is whether Hagel will support America’s position on Israel. It is not the job of American officials to uncritically back Israel on whatever it may chose to do. The American right demands a fealty to conservative Israeli policies – but even the Israelis themselves cannot agree on their own best course - it is a democracy after all.
As for Hagel’s position on the Iraq surge. It is deceptive to get all huffy about Hagel’s misjudgment, when the very reason we were there in the first place was based on a huge error (or lie).
Chuck Hagel has been condemned as weak on Iran, in part for suggesting that we should talk directly with the Iranians and Hamas – despite it being against US policy to have direct negotiations. (Although it is an open secret that there is plenty of communication through back channels) It is fair to ask in the confirmation hearings if Hagel will observe US policy or his own preferences in doing the defense job.
Churchill – would rather talk than fight.
But it is a trope of the right that talking to people is a sign of weakness. Winston Churchill, certainly no dove and a hero to conservatives, pithily observed that it was better to jaw jaw than war war. He also gave us the word summit when he talked of going to the top of a mountain to parlay with the Soviets.
Fiscal conservatives and people who support our troops should love Hagel. He has after all promised to cut the bloat out of the Pentagon and sees war as the solution of last resort – saving a whole lot of gelt, and a bunch of lives.
Should Hagel and Kerry be confirmed we would have two decorated war veterans heading State and Defense. And that has to be better than the neocon adventurism of years past – spearheaded by a bunch of draft-dodgers.
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