Hagel disputes McCain’s claim we can ‘win’ in Iraq: ‘Then we’ll be there forever.’
Hagel disputes McCain’s claim we can ‘win’ in Iraq: ‘Then we’ll be there forever.’
In an interview with CNN, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) took issue with John McCain’s frequent declarations that we must “win” in Iraq. “This isn’t a win or lose,” Hagel said, adding:
We shouldn’t frame this up as a win-or-lose because, when we do that – and this is where I have a major disagreement with McCain, then on that basis we’ll be there forever.
Watch a video compilation of McCain and Hagel’s remarks:
Hagel Slams Cheney’s Callous Iraq Comments: Not ‘Out Of Character,’ Has A ‘Credibility Gap’
Hagel Slams Cheney’s Callous Iraq Comments: Not ‘Out Of Character,’ Has A ‘Credibility Gap’
Last week, Vice President Cheney made notorious comments exemplifying his distance from the situation on the ground in both Iraq and the U.S. When asked about the sour public opinion on the war, he replied “So?” And when asked about 4,000 dead U.S. troops, he said, “The President carries the biggest burden, obviously.”
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) is having none of it. In two interviews this week on NPR, Hagel ripped Cheney’s callousness towards the public and the troops on the ground.
Hagel told Dianne Rehm on Tuesday that the “So?” comment was not surprising considering Cheney’s “character”:
Well, I don’t think it was out of character for the Vice President. I have always believed that leaders should not be governed by polls, and obviously the vice president does and this president has noted that.
Yesterday, on NPR’s On Point, Hagel again went after Cheney, saying that his sense of Bush’s “burden” in the war is ironic coming from a Vietnam draft dodger:
There is a credibility gap here, at least a little bit, with the Vice President, as far as I’m concerned. Here’s a guy who got five deferments during the Vietnam War, said publicly that didn’t work into his plans.
Listen to audio of both interviews here:
The public agrees with Hagel. A recent World Public Opinion poll found that 81 percent of Americans believe that “when making ‘an important decision,’ government leaders ’should pay attention to public opinion polls; 94 percent want this done “in between elections.”
Cheney’s comments have met Hagel’s ire before. When Cheney said in January 2007 that “the biggest threat” in the Iraq war is the American public not having the “stomach for the fight,” Hagel said Cheney “underestimates the people of this country” and suggested that he tell families of the soldiers “that they don’t have the stomach.”
Hagel mocks Bush’s Iran strategy.
Yesterday, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) reiterated his call for President Bush to “pursue an offer of direct, unconditional, and comprehensive talks with Iran.” Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton criticized Hagel this morning, telling CNN: “I don’t think Iran is going to be chit-chatted out of its nuclear weapons.” Hagel, also appearing on CNN, quipped in response, “Well, our current strategy has been working so well, don’t you think?” Watch it:
Hagel added, “We can’t dictate. We can’t say we don’t like your government, therefore you’re going to have to change your government because you’re going to have to play by our rules. That’s gotten us into a lot of trouble. … You engage. You find common denominator interests.”
Hagel Suggests Possibility Of Bush Impeachment: ‘He’s Not Accountable Anymore’
Hagel Suggests Possibility Of Bush Impeachment: ‘He’s Not Accountable Anymore’
According to a new report in Esquire magazine, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has suggested that Congress may consider the impeachment of President Bush before his term ends:
“The president says, ‘I don’t care.’ He’s not accountable anymore,” Hagel says, measuring his words by the syllable and his syllables almost by the letter. “He’s not accountable anymore, which isn’t totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don’t know. It depends how this goes.”
The conversation beaches itself for a moment on that word — impeachment — spoken by a conservative Republican from a safe Senate seat in a reddish state. It’s barely even whispered among the serious set in Washington, and it rings like a gong in the middle of the sentence, even though it flowed quite naturally out of the conversation he was having about how everybody had abandoned their responsibility to the country, and now there was a war going bad because of it.
Hagel isn’t the only one frustrated. The desire for more accountability over Bush has led to increasing calls for impeachment from the Washington State legislature, the mayor of Salt Lake City, and town hall meetings in Vermont.
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) said pushing for impeachment would be counterproductive because it would break off efforts to recruit conservative support for changing the course of the war in Iraq. “We’re trying to get [conservatives] to vote against the war. They’re coming around. You don’t hear them singing the virtues of George Bush like they used to. But nothing will turn this into a partisan lockdown faster than impeachment.” Inslee added, “Ending the war is what’s important now.”
Hagel: ‘We Must Be Clear That The U.S. Does Not Seek Regime Change In Iran’
Hagel: ‘We Must Be Clear That The U.S. Does Not Seek Regime Change In Iran’
Conservatives are using a U.N. report released today to instigate a confrontation with Iran. Drudge headlines “Iran Nuke showdown.” AEI writes, “Now is the time to ratchet up the pressure.” In a speech at the University of Nebraska, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) tamped down on such rhetoric, arguing the way forward must involve diplomatic engagement. The first step, he argued, is to make clear we do not see “regime change in Iran”:
The United States must be resolute and clear-headed in our dealings with Iran…just as the Administration has been in the latest round of the Six Party Talks regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons. The agreement that Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill reached on February 13 with his colleagues from China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Russia reflects the power of adept diplomacy, supported through regional coordination, strengthened by financial pressure, and our military presence in South Korea, Japan and across the Asia-Pacific region.
The United States must employ similar, wise statecraft to redirect deepening Middle East tensions toward a higher ground of resolution. We must be clear that the United States does not seek regime change in Iran. We must be clear that our objections are to the actions of the Iranian government…not the Iranian people.
In the last month, the Bush administration has deployed an additional carrier group to Iran, stormed Iranian government offices in Iraq, and accused the “highest levels” of the Iranian government of funneling weapons into Iraq. Today, Hagel warned that “careless rhetoric” and “flawed intelligence” risk triggering a military confrontation with Iran:
The United States needs to weigh very carefully its actions regarding Iran. In a hazy, hair-triggered environment, careless rhetoric and military movements that one side may believe are required to demonstrate resolve and strength…can be misinterpreted as preparations for military options. The risk of inadvertent conflict because of miscalculation is great.
The United States must be cautious and wise not to follow the same destructive path on Iran as we did on Iraq. We blundered into Iraq because of flawed intelligence, flawed assumptions, flawed judgments, and questionable intentions.
Read the full speech here.
Hagel: “Focus Group-Tested Buzz Words…Like ‘Cut and Run’ Debase the Seriousness of War”
Hagel: “Focus Group-Tested Buzz Words…Like ‘Cut and Run’ Debase the Seriousness of War”
This afternoon on the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) blasted conservatives who have turned to “catchy political slogans†to avoid having a serious debate about Bush’s Iraq policy. Hagel argued that using such focus-group tested words like “cut and run†demean the debate and “debase the seriousness of war.†Watch it.
Full transcript below: Read the rest of this entry »
Hagel: ‘Things Are Worse Off In The Middle East Today Than They Were Three Years Ago’
Hagel: ‘Things Are Worse Off In The Middle East Today Than They Were Three Years Ago’
This weekend, President Bush delivered the commencement address at West Point and declared that his global war on terror is helping to spread freedom in the Middle East:
Decades of excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe. So long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place where terrorists foment resentment and threaten American security. So we are pursuing a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East.
This morning on Meet the Press, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered a strong rebuke of Bush’s assessment of what’s going on in the Middle East:
I think you could make a pretty strong case that things are worse off in the Middle East today than they were three years ago. By measurement of Iraq, by Iran, by the Palestinian-Israeli issue, what’s going on in Egypt. And, I think the United States must use its force of diplomacy to engage Iran.
Hagel isn’t alone in making his argument that the Middle East is worse off since the Iraq invasion. Read the rest of this entry »
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