Statement on Nomination of Sen. Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense
Statement on Nomination of Sen. Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense
In response to today’s nomination of Senator Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense, Major General (ret.) Paul D. Eaton, Senior Advisor at the National Security Network, released the following statement:
“Senator Hagel is a decorated war veteran and a strong choice to run the Department of Defense. Senator Hagel has proven himself relentlessly focused on driving America’s national security interests without sacrificing American values, earning my respect and that of my colleagues in the military community.The next Secretary of Defense will face many challenges, from how we reshape the Pentagon, to when and how we use force, post-Afghanistan and Iraq, in the pursuit of peace and security. Senator Hagel will bring to these challenges a clear-eyed focus on our comprehensive security needs, the value of our alliances and the will of the American people.For all these reasons, President Obama’s nomination should be commended and members of the United States Senate should be encouraged to confirm him immediately.”
If confirmed, Senator Hagel will have many major challenges to tackle during his tenure. They include:
- managing the reduction of Pentagon spending and reshaping it to deal with 21st century threats;
- confronting and engaging adversaries, including Iran and its controversial nuclear program;
- ending the war in Afghanistan and completing the transition to Afghan control;
- curtailing the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world;
- maintaining the strength and morale of the world’s greatest fighting force.
Senator Hagel’s views on these issues, and many more, are clearly laid out in his public statements and voting record. A careful appraisal of Senator Hagel’s record shows it to embody restraint and courage that will serve our armed forces, President Obama and the American people well in the coming years. A brief overview of that record is below:
Reducing and Reshaping the Pentagon
On military strategy:
“We have not had any real strategic thinking in this country for years and years and years — strategic thinking in what are our interests… Let’s start with that. Let’s then look at the strategic dynamics and reorientation of our military and our force structure application… We have — we have ricocheted from crisis to crisis. And our thinking has never been clear strategically.” [CFR Appearance, 6/11/11]
On the role of the Pentagon:
“Our Defense Department budget, it is not a jobs program. It’s not an economic development program for my state or any district. If STRATCOM and Omaha can’t comply with the criteria that we apply to our defense mechanisms and we put our budgets in those areas for the simple, only reason of national security, then it should be closed.” [CFR Appearance, 6/11/11]
Engaging Adversaries and Diplomacy
On engagement with Iran:
“I know it’s easy to dismiss Iran by saying, Wait, we’re not going to talk to Iran, they support terrorists, they support Hezbollah. They’ve got their tentacles wrapped around every problem in the middle East. They’re anti-Israel, anti-United States. Those are realities. Those are facts. Now we’ve got a choice here, we can continue to push Iran out and back, and say to Iran, We will give you the privilege of sitting down and talking with us based on our preconditions. And as that goes on, Iran continues most likely to develop nuclear capabilities, it continues to enhance its position with a significant population in the Middle East, which is a direct threat against Israel, a direct threat against the interests of the United States.” [IPF Appearance, 12/4/08]
On engagement and diplomacy:
“Engagement is not appeasement, diplomacy is not weakness….The worst thing we can do, the most dangerous thing we can do is continue to isolate nations, is continue to not engage nations. Great powers engage. Great powers form coalitions of common interest. They form alliances.” [IPF Appearance, 12/4/08]
On interconnectivity:
“You cannot take any of these challenges and deal with them in capsules, and in compartments. Iran has everything to do with the outcome in Iraq, the outcome of the Israeli Palestinian issue, of the Middle East itself, the stability of those Persian gulf countries, of oil..[W]hen we’re talking about Iran, I believe that is going to require some kind of security gift. I believe it’s going to require some easy-to-do breakthroughs like an interest section, commercial exchange of flights. We can do those kinds of things.” [IPF Appearance, 12/4/08]
Israel-Palestine Conflict
”Until we are able to lead a renewal of the Israeli/Palestinian peace process, mindless destruction and slaughter will continue in Lebanon, Israel and across the Middle East.” [Op-ed, 11/26/2006]
“At its core, there will always be a special historic bond with Israel exemplified by our continued commitment to Israel’s defense…a comprehensive solutions should not include any compromise regarding Israel’s Jewish identity, which must be assured. The Israeli people must be free to live in peace and security.” [America: Our Next Chapter, 3/25/2008]
Iraq and Afghanistan
On Iraq:
“I never thought Iraq, for example, was well thought-out. No one could ever take me through then what happens, then what happens, then what happens…What we learned from Iraq is that you can’t unilaterally, arbitrarily march into a country, invade a sovereign nation, regardless of the dynamics or the reasons or whatever you want to make as the primary focus on this, without alliances, the strength of those alliances. [CFR Appearance, 6/11/11]
On Afghanistan:
“We have lost our purpose, our objective. We are in a universe of unpredictables and uncontrollables…The Taliban and al-Qaida are two different elements…We need to start winding this down. The worst thing we can do is get bogged down (with) no way of getting out, while military casualties mount, resources are squandered and Americans become increasingly viewed as occupiers and oppressors.”
Stopping Nuclear Proliferation
”All nations, certainly those who possess nuclear weapons today, must be unified in their general effort of purpose to eliminate these weapons. It’s important to put the world on a new course, a new course of possibilities, of hope, of working toward this objective…The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, I think, is as deadly a challenge and threat to mankind out there…we have in our capacity to destroy the world…we all have a stake in this, all nations, all people.” [Interview, 3/30/2009]
America As A Moral Leader
“When men are locked in cycles of despair, and when there is no human dignity, when there is no hope, then it’s fairly predictable that it will not result in a better world, in a safer world, in a more just world, and I don’t mean that I connect poverty or despair with terrorism or extremism, but I will tell you that when you look at the world today, six-and-a half billion people, the regions of the world that have been left behind since World War II, that in fact have not enjoyed human liberties and advancement of the human condition and an increase of standard of living and hope and possibilities– they are the most troubled areas of the world, and we know where they are, the Middle East, much of Asia, Africa, a good part of South America.” [IPF Appearance, 12/4/08]
