"Hagel Speech on Iraq/Middle East"

Last Thursday Senator Chuck Hagel gave a speech regarding Iraq and the Middle East to the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). It is a remarkable speech and well worth a read. I'd love to post the whole thing here, but it would be too long. Go and read the speech at his Senate website.

Technorati tags: Chuck Hagel, Iraq

GOP Progress - 10 Favorite Senators

Liz Mair has compiled a list of her ten favorite senators and the reasons for their places over at GOP Progress. Chuck Hagel makes it in at number three.

Why I like him: It's tough to find anyone more fiscally conservative than Hagel (and the only person who I believe consistently pulls it off is at the top of this list). It's also hard to find any Republican who is as upfront about the spending habits of Republicans on Capitol Hill. Yes, Hagel irritates people a lot, with his criticism of the President over Iraq and foreign policy, generally, but deep in his criticisms, I often find some rare Capitol Hill wisdom. He also has great market-based and market-friendly ideas on how to improve the environment, and actually takes an interest in banking law and policy--a pet concern of mine as an ex-banking lawyer, and something I think too many people on Capitol Hill ignore. Oh--and he voted against the FMA on exactly the right grounds: the 10th Amendment.

The Cato Institute on Iraq

The Cato Institute is a conservative/libertarian think tank. There is an article on their website that argues strongly for the U.S. to get out of Iraq, and soon.

But there is potential support for withdrawal among Republicans as well. In his recent Washington Post piece, Nebraska Senator Hagel stated categorically "The United States must begin planning for a phased troop withdrawal from Iraq."

Other veteran Republicans, including Richard Lugar of Indiana, the outgoing chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Virginia's John Warner, and South Carolina's Lindsay Graham have all voiced their concerns about an open-ended military commitment in Iraq.

An expeditious withdrawal would allow the United States to begin to rebuild its tattered image abroad. It would also free up political, diplomatic and military resources for use against al-Qaeda and other like-minded anti-American terrorist groups. Withdrawal carries risks, including the danger that the civil war in Iraq could grow more violent, or even spread beyond the country's borders, but the alternative – an indefinite commitment that saps American strength and undermines American security – is worse.

The ISG refused to make the case for ending this war. If the conflict drags on, and the costs in blood and treasure continue to mount, history will look back on their work as a lost opportunity.

While some on the right are still angry with Senator Hagel, more and more people are coming to the same conclusions he has been articulating.

The Iraq War and the 2008 Candidates

There is an interesting article about the 2008 Presidential race with regard to the Iraq war over at TomPaine.com. Senator Hagel is one of only two potential 2008 candidates that come away form the analysis in a positive light. Here are some excerpts from it:

What's the best way to judge a potential president? It might be to look at the hard decisions a candidate has made in the past. And for several of the probable and possible 2008 contenders, the October 2002 vote in the Senate on the resolution granting George W. Bush the authority to attack Iraq whenever he deemed fit was the most difficult call they had to make. It certainly was the most consequential. All of the current senatorial presidential wannabes who were in office then—Democrats Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Christopher Dodd, Evan Bayh, and Republicans John McCain, Chuck Hagel and Sam Brownback—voted for the bill. So, too, did former Sen. John Edwards. (Sen. Barack Obama, who opposed the war, was not yet in the Senate.) But there were differences in how each approached and explained his or her vote. So let's go back through the dusty pages of the Congressional Record, and see how these legislators handled this tough task—and helped land the United States in the biggest foreign policy blunder of recent decades..

Chuck Hagel. Of all the senators eyeing the White House in 2008, this Nebraskan was the only one to express deep reservations about the resolution—while still voting for it. “America—including the Congress—and the world, must speak with one voice about Iraqi disarmament, as it must continue to do so in the war on terrorism,” Hagel said in explaining his vote. But he was prescient: “If disarmament in Iraq requires the use of force, we need to consider carefully the implications and consequences of our actions. The future of Iraq after Saddam Hussein is also an open question. Some of my colleagues and some American analysts now speak authoritatively of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds in Iraq, and how Iraq can be a test case for democracy in the Arab world. How many of us really know and understand much about Iraq, the country, the history, the people, the role in the Arab world? I approach the issue of post-Saddam Iraq and the future of democracy and stability in the Middle East with more caution, realism and a bit more humility.” He added, “Imposing democracy through force in Iraq is a roll of the dice. A democratic effort cannot be maintained without building durable Iraqi political institutions and developing a regional and international commitment to Iraq's reconstruction. No small task.”

Hagel was disappointed in the discourse within the Senate: “We should spend more time debating the cost and extent of this commitment, the risks we may face in military engagement with Iraq, the implications of the precedent of United States military action for regime change and the likely character and challenges of a post-Saddam Iraq. We have heard precious little from the President, his team, as well as from this Congress, with a few notable exceptions, about these most difficult and critical questions.” And he cautioned humility: “I share the hope of a better world without Saddam Hussein, but we do not really know if our intervention in Iraq will lead to democracy in either Iraq or elsewhere in the Arab world.” Bottom line: Hagel feared the resolution would lead to a war that would go badly but didn't have the guts to say no to the leader of his party.

I can't say that I agree with that last line. Senator Hagel saw what COULD happen if his (and others) advice was not heeded, rather than he was unwilling to stand up to the President. We've seen since then that Senator Hagel has the courage to speak out against the President on Iraq.

"Hagel visits to test presidential waters"

There's an article in the Omaha World-Herald that sheds some light on Senator Hagel's speaking plans in the near future. From the article:

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Hagel, a possible 2008 White House contender, will visit one key campaign state next month and possibly another in January.

The Nebraska Republican is scheduled to visit Ohio as featured speaker at the Cuyahoga County Republicans' holiday party Dec. 15.

Ohio's presidential primary often plays an important early role in deciding party nominees.

Hagel also has tentatively penciled in a late January trip to Iowa - a year ahead of the state's presidential caucuses that kick off the battle for the White House every four years.

He's been invited to speak at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, a frequent stop for candidates.

Hagel spokesman Mike Buttry said that despite the two trips, the senator is no closer to deciding whether he'll enter the presidential race. Several other Republicans and Democrats already are launching their campaigns...

Hagel also is scheduled to introduce U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as the featured speaker Dec. 11 at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Mo. It will be Annan's last major speech before retiring as secretary general.

Hagel also will deliver the Dec. 16 commencement address at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Also don't forget the contest, you can still win a button!

"Hagel Statement on the Recommendations of the Iraq Study Group"

Here is a press release from Senator Hagel's Senate office released today.

December 6th, 2006 - WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, released the following statement today regarding the recommendations release by the Iraq Study Group:

“The Iraq Study Group has provided an important opportunity for the Administration to forge a bi-partisan consensus around a new way forward in Iraq. I look forward to reviewing all of the Iraq Study Groups recommendations. The report is an acknowledgment that there will be no military solution in Iraq. It will require a political solution arrived at through sustained Iraqi and region-wide diplomacy and engagement.

“The President and Congress now must work together to frame a new policy that will allow the U.S. to leave Iraq and the Iraqi people to make their own decisions as to their future.”

Technorati tags: Chuck Hagel, Iraq Study Group

Get your Hagel 2008 buttons

Want a cool looking Chuck Hagel for President button like this one?

Our first ever "contest":
Each of the first five people that do the following three things will get one of these buttons from me in the mail (and anyone that does this will be added to the blogroll on this site).

1.) Post a blog post in support of Senator Hagel and
2.) include a link to this blog.
3.) Email me your name and address (so I know where to send the buton).

These buttons are part of the collection from Oval Office 2008 on CafePress. Check out their stuff, as any Hagel merchandise you buy will count towards the botton poll at Oval Office 2008. Remember, only the first five get buttons, but everyone that does this and lets me know about it will be added to the blogroll on this site.

Video of this Morning's Face the Nation

You can catch the video of Senator Hagel's segment on this morning's Face the Nation here.

Moving up at The Next Prez

The Next Prez does their weekly Friday Top Five and this week Chuck Hagel is moving up. Also be sure to vote in their new 2008 poll for December. Here's what they had to say:

7. Chuck Hagel (rising) -- With the public weary of the ongoing war in Iraq, Hagel is one of the few Republicans who can claim to be right on the issue from the outset.

Senator Hagel on Face the Nation

Chuck Hagel will be on CBS's Sunday morning show Face the Nation tomorrow morning. Check local listings to find out when he'll be on in your area.

"Big Bad Chuck Hagel"

This was too funny (and interesting) to not share. Bayh2008 Coast-to-Coast is a blog similar to this one supporting Democrat Evan Bayh's likely 2008 Presidential run. Here's what they had to say about Senator Hagel.

The only Republican I fear is big bad Chuck Hagel.

The Chucker could give us trouble.

I would never vote for a Republican....

But the Chucker has BALLS that CLANG just ike Mario Cuomo had/has.

This is not the first time I've heard Democratic/liberal bloggers express their concern over Chuck Hagel getting the nomination, as he is one they do not want to face in the November 2008 election.

Notes on Chuck Hagel from Electoral Vote.com

Electoral Vote.com has a list of possible 2008 candidates and brief notes about each of them. Here is what they noted about Senator Chuck Hagel (emphasis added):

Like John McCain, Chuck Hagel is a decorated Vietnam veteran. Since Hagel is less well known than McCain, he is staking out a different piece of territory: he says the war has failed and we ought to start thinking about getting out. He has been far more critical of George Bush than any Democrat, even John Murtha. If the war is still the dominant issue in 2008, he can say "I warned you years ago" and have a lot of credibility. Also unlike McCain, he is not cozying up to the right-wing preachers, which may hurt him in the primaries but will help him in the general election. On domestic issues, he is slightly more conservative than McCain, though. He positively radiates integrity and gravitas and at 60, he looks like a president.

I'm not quite sure I agree with all of it, but it does raise a few interesting points. Senator Hagel is one that is likely to be agreeable to the Christian Right (much more so that Rudy and some of the others), but as far as I know he is not in close with that movement. Senator Hagel is a social conservative but that has not been the focus of his career. Likewise, I don't think that his Iraq position can be based on political calculations, but rather personal experience from Vietnam and how he saw that Congress as having failed in their duty to ask the tough questions for the troops fighting abroad. Your thoughts?