Post by Moses on Dec 7, 2004 9:28:54 GMT -5
Hagel seems to transcend the agenda of AIPAC, unlike the machine Democrats:
If you haven't heard of Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) you should start paying attention to what he has to say. Not only is he an influential Republican senator who is well versed in the intricacies of foreign policy, but his name is already being bandied around as a presidential contender in 2008. Take a look at what he had to say recently on ABC's "This Week." Hagel, commenting on the current state of affairs in Iraq and the broader Middle East: "Well, it seems to me three things have to happen...these elections are absolutely critical...So that's number one, do everything we can to assure that those elections come off. Second, as we are working on a parallel track, train as quickly as we can, as effectively as we can, the military and the policy, because ultimately they will have the responsibility of securing their country. Third, regional security conference that well be held tomorrow and Tuesday, Sharm-el Sheikh, is absolutely critical here. Iraq cannot survive in a hostile neighborhood. And our policy must integrate all the dynamics of the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the Iranian issue, the Syrian problem we've got in Lebanon, and Iraq. And if we come at these in vacuum tubes, then we will fail there. All those things have to happen. Last point. I suspect, if the Iraqi government is elected, the national assembly, they move toward writing a constitution, a presidential election later on in the year, the United States needs to be prepared to start thinking about pulling troops out...I think the Iraqi government will want that. Here's the problem that we have. We have no good options there. We are the guarantor of the security right now in Iraq. At the same time, we are a major force of instability in Iraq because of the oppressor anti-American sense that develops every day. Every time we blow down another house in Fallujah, there's more anti-American sentiment that goes throughout. Now, we don't have any choice here, I think. We're in a bad situation."
www.aaiusa.org/countdown/c120304.htm
If you haven't heard of Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) you should start paying attention to what he has to say. Not only is he an influential Republican senator who is well versed in the intricacies of foreign policy, but his name is already being bandied around as a presidential contender in 2008. Take a look at what he had to say recently on ABC's "This Week." Hagel, commenting on the current state of affairs in Iraq and the broader Middle East: "Well, it seems to me three things have to happen...these elections are absolutely critical...So that's number one, do everything we can to assure that those elections come off. Second, as we are working on a parallel track, train as quickly as we can, as effectively as we can, the military and the policy, because ultimately they will have the responsibility of securing their country. Third, regional security conference that well be held tomorrow and Tuesday, Sharm-el Sheikh, is absolutely critical here. Iraq cannot survive in a hostile neighborhood. And our policy must integrate all the dynamics of the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the Iranian issue, the Syrian problem we've got in Lebanon, and Iraq. And if we come at these in vacuum tubes, then we will fail there. All those things have to happen. Last point. I suspect, if the Iraqi government is elected, the national assembly, they move toward writing a constitution, a presidential election later on in the year, the United States needs to be prepared to start thinking about pulling troops out...I think the Iraqi government will want that. Here's the problem that we have. We have no good options there. We are the guarantor of the security right now in Iraq. At the same time, we are a major force of instability in Iraq because of the oppressor anti-American sense that develops every day. Every time we blow down another house in Fallujah, there's more anti-American sentiment that goes throughout. Now, we don't have any choice here, I think. We're in a bad situation."
www.aaiusa.org/countdown/c120304.htm