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Chuck Hagel has opposed the possibility of military action against Iran, called for a sovereign Palestinian state, called the United States “the world’s bully,” and called for the Pentagon to be “pared down.”
These are not the actions of a man who cares about preserving our national security, and they undeniably disqualify Chuck Hagel from holding the most consequential position in the President’s cabinet.
His confirmation would be a direct threat to our national security, and that’s why Patriot Voices has taken the lead in making sure it doesn’t happen!
So Santorum’s group doesn’t want Hagel confirmed because he supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But President Obama supports a two-state solution (as did his GOP opponent in last year’s presidential campaign), and so do a majority of Israelis and so does Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
And Hagel has also said he supports all options, including military force if necessary, to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and indeed, Hagel has said that the U.S. should reduce military spending, a position that experts and the American public agree with.
And did Hagel call the U.S. “the world’s bully”? Nope. Santorum’s group got that from Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) dishonest and out of context line of questioning last week during Hagel’s confirmation hearing.
But the fact that Hagel is getting attacked for believing that the Palestinians are entitled to their own state tells you something about the points of view from which most of the Hagel criticism is coming from.
