Israel OK About Hagel Nomination

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Jan. 11, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

           When 66-year-old Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) bucked the Neocons during the George W. Bush administration he made enemies in the Republicans Party.  Hagel’s reluctance to rubber stamp Bush’s war policies especially on Iraq left him at odds with Vice President Dick Cheney and his Neocon cabal, including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and the whole pro-Israel gang at the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans, especially Douglas J. Feith Jr. and Richard Perle.  In the wake of Sept. 11, Bush and Cheney lost confidence in the FBI and CIA, instead placing confidence in a group whiz kids at the Pentagon.  Whether admitted to or not, Cheney received much of his unsubstantiated intel on Saddam Hussein from Defense Intelligence, especially the OSP.  Unfortunately for the U.S. Treasury and Military, the intel was all bad.

            Driving much of the bad intel was a the belief that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was somehow connected to Sept. 11, though Bush administration officials denied a connection when pressed.  After toppling Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003, polls showed that 60% of the Americans believed Saddam, not Bin Laden, was responsible for Sept. 11.  Bush’s national security team, including National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell all pushed the idea that Saddam was top on the terrorist list.  When Hagel faces confirmation hearings in the Senate Armed Services Committee, he’ll face some Bush’s old Cool-Aid drinkers that pushed the idea that “Iraq was the central front in the war on terror.”  Hagel didn’t go along with the program and faces almost certain opposition from certain GOP senators, including ranking member Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

            Hagel gave an interview in 2006 to journalist and Mideast expert Aaron David Miller in which he said “The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people [on Capitol Hill], explaining “I am not an Israeli senator.  I am a U.S. senator,” opposing sanctions against Iran supported by the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee.  Hagel’s past remarks, that will surely surface in his Senate confirmation hearings, were not anti-Semetic but simply a politically incorrect reminder that matters of U.S. national security were independent of Israeli foreign policy.  While political objections swirl on Capitol Hill over Hagel’s nomination to replace Leon Panetta as Defense Secretary, Senior Israeli diplomat Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon voiced no objections to Hagel’s nominataion.  “I have met him [Hagel] many times, and he certainly regards Israel as a true and natural U.S. ally.”

            Though politically incorrect, Hagel’s 2006 remarks to Millier reflect all U.S. elected officials who recognize Israel as sovereign nation with its own foreign policy prerogatives.  While Hagel wants to give more diplomacy a change with respect to Iran’s nuclear plans, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t support the U.N.’s tough sanctions protocal preventing Iran from selling oil in world markets.  Many groups and individuals have been at odds with AIPAC, the major U.S.-based Israeli lobbying group.  With conservative 63-yearold MIT-graduate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu facing reelection Jan. 22, Israeli politicians, like Bibi’s former rival Hatnuah Party leader Tzipi Livni, want to stir the pot with Hagel’s nomination.  Even Israeli parliament Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said Israelis should be “concerned but not afraid of Hagel’s isolationist ideas.”

            Calling Hagel isolationist doesn’t reflect his reluctance to jump to military action over diplomacy.  Like the U.S., there are widely varying public opinions ranging from Netanyahu’s conservative base to Livni’s socialist backers.  Sampling public opinion, it’s clear that Hagel’s more supported by Livni’s dovish block that prefers diplomacy over military intervention.  Picking Hagel, Obama signals he’s not on the same page as Netanyahu that jumps to the conclusion that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program represents an “existential threat” to Israel.  While most Western powers think Iran is up to no good with its nuclear activities, Tehran has denied any military ambitions.  Before the U.S. jumps into another bombing campaign or foreign war, Hagel would like to see more evidence that Iran really poses a threat to Israel or U.S. interests.  Obama, not Hagel, sets U.S. foreign policy.

            Hyping Hagel’s so-called anti-Semetic remarks doesn’t get to the bottom of his solid support of Israel.  Referring in 2006 to the “Jewish lobby,” simply reflects Hagel’s fiercely independent streak, where any decision about U.S. foreign policy or national security should come from inside the country.  Responding to his critics, Hagel expressed “unequivocal, total support for Israel’s interest,” refuting his critics.  While opposing sanctions against Iran because he thinks they’ve backfired, Hagel “said many times that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism,” hinting that he’s no pushover if Obama decides that diplomacy won’t stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions.  “In the United States, policy is made by the president, not by the members of his Cabinet,” said former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens, downplaying any problem with Hagel’s nomination or any objections in the U.S. or abroad.    

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.