Chuck Hagel is the former senator from Nebraska nominated by the
administration as the next secretary of defense. There was the
usual ploy by administrations to determine what political baggage
their potential choice may carry. In other words, is there going to
be a messy battle during his or her confirmation hearings? We have
seen how this works when Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador, was in
the mix for secretary of state. The howls from the Republicans were
so ear-shattering that she withdrew her name. What does this
portend for Hagel?
Hagel, a Republican, has committed the political sin of not being
loyal to Israel and being soft on Iran. This has unleashed a
torrent of outrage among the Israeli apologists: neo-conservatives,
American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Republican Jewish Coalition,
the National Jewish Democratic Council, The Israel Project and the
Zionist Organization of America. Their outcries have been magnified
by commentary pieces in major newspapers. What has Hagel said that
makes him such a target of vitriol?
In interviews, he has stated: as a U.S. senator, he took an oath
of office to the U.S. Constitution, not to a president, nor a
party, nor to Israel; the U.S. should be more sensitive to Arab
matters and interests; the Obama administration should engage Hamas
and try to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and he refused
to sign AIPAC-sponsored anti-Iran bills.
Speaking to the pro-Israel lobby JStreet, Hagel said, "The
United States' support for Israel need not be - nor should it be -
an either/or proposition that dictates our relationships with our
Arab allies and friends. The U.S. has a long and special
relationship with Israel, but it must not come at the expense of
our Arab relationships."
What also is interesting is that major Israeli apologists no
longer use the term anti-Semite to defame their opponents. It is a
term they now realize has outlived its usefulness in character
assassination. Some new code words for anti-Semite are "endemic
hostility toward Israel," "prejudice" and "anti-Israel." We all
know what they mean.
Despite the media's attention to all things negative about Hagel,
there are many supporters of his nomination. They include former
national security advisers James L. Jones, Brent Scowcroft,
Zbigniew Brzezinski and Frank Carlucci, plus several generals and
politicians. The attacks, as Jones has stated, "will only
discourage future prospective nominees from public service when our
country badly needs quality leadership in government."
Hagel's nomination and confirmation may or may not be a turning
point in U.S. policies in the Middle East. But it might mean that
officials in government will be able to say, without worrying about
their careers, that Israeli interests are not necessarily U.S.
interests. Wow, wouldn't that be something? If Obama caves, as many
think or hope, his presidency will be in disarray. He will be
viewed as someone without a backbone and whose influence and
integrity both here and abroad will be meaningless.
What this country needs are more people like Hagel, i.e.
independent thinkers. People who truly favor the interests of the
U.S. and not a foreign power. He is someone who revolted against
the Republican war-madness machine knowing its political
consequences. We all know how the world, including the U.S., has
suffered from the war mindset of our government. It's about time to
have someone in the higher echelons of government who first favors
diplomacy over war when conflicts arise.
I was impressed by a relevant statement made by a guest columnist
for Al Jazeera about the Hagel affair and its consequences for the
U.S. "This is a curious position for a democracy to find itself in
where an interest group lobbying on behalf of a foreign state can
exercise veto power over government appointments based on
ideological litmus tests. The distortion it engenders has been
obvious in the disastrous course of recent U.S. foreign policy."
Who is dictating our foreign policy?
Boyd is a former professor and science writer. He lives in
Daleville.
