Hagel Blows Sec. of Defense Confirmation Hearing

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pspr

He's toast. Next!

Distraught by his poor performance in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, liberals viciously turned on secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel on social media.

hagel’s making biden look rhetorically sure-footed
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) January 31, 2013

this hearing is beginning to remind me of the 1st Obama-Romney debate
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) January 31, 2013

This Hagel hearing is a disaster.
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) January 31, 2013

Certainly seems like it on twitter RT @buzzfeedandrew This Hagel hearing is a disaster.
— AdamSerwer (@AdamSerwer) January 31, 2013

I think Hagel is engaged now in Jewsplaining.
— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) January 31, 2013

Hagel has written chapters on Iraq and on the Middle East. So we’re cool.
— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) January 31, 2013

Did Hagel just call Iran’s government “elected and legitimate”?
— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) January 31, 2013

Hagel is floundering through one policy answer after another. IRGC terrorism, Iraq surge, nukes.
— attackerman (@attackerman) January 31, 2013

“I support the president’s strong position on containment. I think that’s right.” Um, you meant prevention, right #Hagel?
— attackerman (@attackerman) January 31, 2013

#Hagel just stumbled over whether Iran govt is “legitimate” or “elected.” Fodder for oppo
— Ron Kampeas (@kampeas) January 31, 2013

Yikes, now he said he “supports the president’s position on containment.” #Hagel
— Ron Kampeas (@kampeas) January 31, 2013

Watching Hagel stumbling at Senate hearing. Recalling Brennan gaffes after Abbottabad. DoD and CIA not in best of hands, alas.
— Ed Husain (@Ed_Husain) January 31, 2013

Basically, Hagel does not seem very sharp.
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) January 31, 2013

Hagel not particularly swift on his feet. Missed opportunity to push back vs. McCain. “Senator, you want another war in the Middle East?”
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) January 31, 2013

Hagel is a little awkward here
— Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) January 31, 2013

Sen. Hagel’s confirmation hearing performance was brilliant. #slatepitches
— Josh Greenman (@joshgreenman) January 31, 2013

Not impressed by Hagel so far. This is one of the toughest jobs in govt. He needs to do better.
— Tom Wright (@thomaswright08) January 31, 2013

http://freebeacon.com/this-hagel-hearing-is-a-disaster/
 
OH MY DEAR GOD! What's there to say? The man is not even remotely qualified for the position. His "performance" today was, shall we say, unimaginative. My God, is this the best we can come up with? I know Team Obama wants blind minions, but Jesus...
 
Quote from CaptainObvious:

I know Team Obama wants blind minions, but Jesus...
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Blind and dumb. This guy makes Biden and Kerry look like Rhodes Scholars.
 
Quote from CaptainObvious:

OH MY DEAR GOD! What's there to say? The man is not even remotely qualified for the position. His "performance" today was, shall we say, unimaginative. My God, is this the best we can come up with? I know Team Obama wants blind minions, but Jesus...
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A bad hearing dosn't mean he isnt qualified for the position imo.I'm glad he isn't Israel's , the military industrial complex and the warmongers bitch
 
Quote from AK Forty Seven:

A bad hearing dosn't mean he isnt qualified for the position imo.I'm glad he isn't Israel's , the military industrial complex and the warmongers bitch
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AK, the guy can't even defend his own positions without looking like a blithering idiot. Dems on the panel tried to help out, but he couldn't even hang on to the life preserver when it was thrown to him. He'll get confirmed in 51/49 type vote, but he's weak. Very weak!
 
Quote from CaptainObvious:

AK, the guy can't even defend his own positions without looking like a blithering idiot. Dems on the panel tried to help out, but he couldn't even hang on to the life preserver when it was thrown to him. He'll get confirmed in 51/49 type vote, but he's weak. Very weak!
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This isnt weak imo



Hagel is a Vietnam War veteran, having served in the United States Army infantry from 1967 to 1968. Holding the rank of Sergeant (E-5), he served as an infantry squad leader in the 9th Infantry Division.[7] Hagel served in the same infantry squad as his younger brother Tom, and they are believed to be the only American siblings to have done so during the Vietnam War.[8] They also ended up saving each other's lives on separate occasions.[8] While serving during the war, he received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.




Hagel was named deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. In 1982, however, he resigned his post over a disagreement with VA Administrator Robert P. Nimmo, who was intent on cutting funding for VA programs. Nimmo had referred to veterans groups as "greedy", and to Agent Orange as not much worse than a "little teenage acne.



In July 2007, Hagel was one of three Republican Senators who supported Democratic-proposed legislation requiring a troop withdrawal from Iraq to begin within 120 days. He told Robert D. Novak "This thing is really coming undone quickly, and [Prime Minister] Maliki's government is weaker by the day. The police are corrupt, top to bottom. The oil problem is a huge problem. They still can't get anything through the parliament—no hydrocarbon law, no de-Baathification law, no provincial elections."[31] In 2008 along with then-Senator (and presumptive democratic nominee for president) Barack Obama, and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Hagel visited Iraq in a congressional delegation trip, meeting with U.S. service members, General David Petraeus, and the Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki.[32] While talking to reporters in Iraq, Hagel said “Each one of us who has a responsibility of helping lead this country needs to reflect on what we think is in the interests of our country, not the interest of our party or our president.





In a 2009 The Washington Post op-ed after being nominated as Chairman of President Obama’s Intelligence advisory board, Hagel said that “We cannot view U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan through a lens that sees only ‘winning’ or ‘losing,’ Iraq and Afghanistan are not America's to win or lose.” And that “We can help them buy time or develop, but we cannot control their fates.”[36] In 2011, after he left office, Hagel stated that President Obama needs to start “looking for the exit in Afghanistan”, and that “We need to start winding this down.”[37]



On August 18, 2005, Hagel compared the Iraq War to Vietnam, and openly mocked Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes."[59] In November 2005, Hagel defended his criticism of the Iraq war, stating "To question your government is not unpatriotic — to not question your government is unpatriotic."[60] In December 2005, in reference to Bush, the Republican Party, and the PATRIOT Act, Hagel stated "I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn't take an oath of office to my party or my president."



Following heavy Republican losses in the 2006 midterm election, Hagel penned an editorial in The Washington Post highly critical of military strategies both employed and proposed for Iraq. He wrote that "There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq," and called for a "phased troop withdrawal.According to a SurveyUSA poll, in August 2006 Hagel had a 10% higher approval rating among Nebraska Democrats than Republicans


In January 2007, Hagel openly criticized President Bush's plan to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. He called it "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out."[67] Together with Democrats Joseph Biden and Carl Levin, he proposed a non-binding resolution to the Democratic-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which rejected Bush's policy as "not in the national interest" in a 12-9 vote.[68] After an April 2007 visit to Iraq with U.S. Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA), Hagel stated his belief that the occupation of Iraq should not continue indefinitely and expressed his intention to cooperate with Senate Democrats in voting for a bill that would set a timeline to get out of Iraq.[69]

In November 2007, he rated the Bush administration "the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus—almost every area" of any presidency in the last forty years.
 
His service in Viet Nam? Honorable but not really a qualifier other than I do like a guy who has seen combat in a decision making capacity, but that in and of itself doesn't qualify him for this job no more than it would qualify me. His role at the the VA? Completely irrelevant. His terms in the Senate? Just makes him another political hack. His views on the "surge"? Wrong! His voews on camparing Iraq to Viet Nam? Wrong! Both were poor decisions but for completely different reasons.
But you know what? I could live with all that. He just doesn't come off as the type of person we need in a very important leadership postion. He's a Obama lap dog, by his own admission. Having been in leadership roles myslef, I never wanted people who just agreed with me on everything. They're no help when things get complicated.
 
Quote from CaptainObvious:

AK, the guy can't even defend his own positions without looking like a blithering idiot....
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True, but then that fact didn't keep Obama from getting elected - twice.
 
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