Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated by President Obama for the seat of “Secretary of Defense” was found defining himself on the topics related to national security on Thursday. Yeah, a senior Republican Senator accused him of willing to appease the enemies of America. The senator even said that he is not the right choice for the “Secretary of State” nomination.
Chuck Hagel is a former Republican Senator and he is also known as the veteran of Vietnam war. On Thursday some Congress critics tried to define him as a soft-hearted person for Iran while a detractor of Israel. They also pointed out that Hagel’s supporters were distorted or taken out of context.
However, many observers think that Hagel will still easily get elected as the “Secretary of Defense” as more votes are in his favor. But three Republican senators including James Inhofe, the leader of party, have said that they are not in the favor of his nomination. James Inhofe said in the heated Senate hearing yesterday,
“Senator Hagel’s record is deeply troubling and out of the mainstream. Too often it seems he is willing to subscribe to a worldwide view that is predicated on appeasing our adversaries while shunning our friends. He is the wrong person to lead the Pentagon at this perilous and consequential time.”
On the other hand, Hagel, who was speaking for the first time since the war began against his nomination, tried to convince other Senate members that he tried to support U.S. policies and tried to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon while also supporting Israel in the meantime. Hagel said for defending him,
“No one individual vote, no one individual quote, no one individual statement defines me, my beliefs, or my record. My overall world view has never changed: that America has and must maintain the strongest military in the world.”
Senator John Kerry, the 68th ‘Secretary of State’ of U.S.A. and another member of President Obama’s second term national security team, was supported by the whole senate on Tuesday. But Hagel, who broke up with Republican party during Iraq war, is facing more tough times for getting selected. Republicans are not only targeting him over the questions of Iraq war but he is also being grilled on the topic of Pentagon budget. In the budget he has played the role of an advocate whose primary goal was to cut the spendings. So far only one out of 45 republicans has said clearly that he will support Hagel’s nomination – Mississippi’s Thad Cochran.