“An Obama nomination and Senate confirmation of Chuck Hagel would be a major step in breaking the grip of Israel’s myrmidons (Israel-Firsters) in this country,” James M. Wall, journalist and former publisher of Chicago-based The Christian Century magazine.
Earlier, I had posted Jews against Chuck Hagel. Since then the Jewish Lobby smearing campaign against Barack Obama’s suspected nomination of former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel for the next head of Pentagon is being heated up. However, there are some sane voices trying to defend Hagel’s appointment as Secretary of Defence – being good for the interests of the United States in the long run.
I have come across several articles on internet – three of which could be of interest to the readers of this blog. Alan Hart’s Obama’s Hagel test from Britain, Robert Parry’s Hagel: The Neocon’s Last Stand? from the US and Ludwig Watzal’s Chuck Hagel: the best for the Petagon.
Alan Hart, a veteran British journalist and author, summed-up his article by saying: “Obama’s decision, expected very soon, about whether or not to nominate Hagel will give us the first significant indication since his re-election of whether or not he is going to continue to dance to Zionism’s tune or, as Hagel might put it, continue to be intimidated by its lobby“.
Robert Parry, wrote: “The neocons are after Hagel’s scalp because he has, at times, refused to sign on to hawkish neocon positions circulated by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, such as piling on more anti-Iran sanctions and demanding that Europe designate Hezbollah, Israel’s chief foe in Lebanon, as a terrorist organization“.
Ludwig Watzal concluded his article by saying: “The US should engage in direct talk with Iran on the nuclear issue without the European cacophony and Israel’s detrimental influence. Iran has to be treated on an equal footing. And Obama should put the Israeli Prime Minister in its place. He cannot accept any longer to be pushed around by a leader of a tiny little country. Hopefully, Obama and his new team will open a more realistic chapter on US Middle Eastern policy“.
On a personal note: I think Hagel’s nomination could be Obama’s PR stunt to fool Americans that he is more loyal to United States than Israel. Like in case of Chase Freedman, Obama is doomed to fall on Lobby’s knees – unless Obama and Hagel manage to convince the Lobby that they’re quite willing to share bed with Netanyahu regardless what Hagel may have said in the past about not going for a military attack against the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, Hagel may change his stand on Iran once appointed – as Dick Cheney did after becoming country’s vice-president. In 1995, Cheney asked for more trade relations with Iran and Libya. However, after becoming vice-president, Cheney even linked al-Qaeda and 9/11 to the Islamic Republic.
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Jews against Chuck Hagel
It’s reported that Barack Obama’s top choice to replace Leon Panetta as secretary of defense is former Senator from Nebraska, Chuck Hagel. Like Dr. Susan Rice’s nomination to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state – Jewish groups have taken sides in favor and against Chuck Hagel. The pro-Netanyahu groups have claimed Hagel’s appointment would mean Obama’s revenge for the evil actions of Netanyahu. These groups are running a smear campaign against Hagel in order to force Barack Obama to dump Hagel as he did Susan Rice in favor of Sen. John Kerry, an Israel-Firster with Jewish family roots.
Barack Obama had in mind to appoint Chuck Hagel as his secretary of defense during his first term – but under Jewish Lobby pressure, he changed his mind and kept Bush’s last defense secretary Robert Gates in his post till 2011.
Leading the anti-Hagel campaign is no other than the racist anti-Iran-Turkey Abraham Foxman, an Israeli lobbist and head of powerful Jewish organization ADL. He told Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin on December 18: “Chuck Hagel would not be the first, second, or third choice for the American Jewish community’s friends of Israel. His record relating to Israel and US-Israel relationship is, at best, disturbing, and at worst, very troubling. The sentiments he has expressed about the Jewish lobby border on antisemitism in the genre of professor John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, and former president Jimmy Carter“.
Former spokesperson for Israel Lobby (AIPAC), Josh Block says that Hagel’s record “speaks for itself”, on issues like voting against sactions on Iran and refusing to call European Union to name Hizballah as a terrorist organization.
“He is one of the most hostile critics of Israel that has ever been in the Senate,” Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America told the Jewish newspaper Algemeiner.
Israel-Firster Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Republican senator from New Hampshire, says she is “concerned” with the nomination of Chuck Hagel on Israel and Iran, and that she intends to question him “vigorously” if he is nominated by Obama.
Even some members of National Jewish Democratic Council have expressed their opposition to Hagel – as they fear he might go soft on Iran’s nuclear program while push Israel to resolve Palestinian issue.
John Judis, on the other hand, has claimed in the Zioconservative outlet, The New Republic, that the opposition to Hagel’s appointment as next secretary of defense comes almost exclusively from Jewish individuals or organizations which support Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
Former US ambassador to Israel under Bush administration, Daniel Kurtzer, supports Hagel’s appointment. “Chuck Hagel is a supporter of Israel and a man who is also ready to discuss very frankly with the Israelis the concerns we had about Israeli policies,” he said.
Like former Congresswoman cynthia McKinney, Chuck Hagel, also refused to sign AIPAC’s pledge to support Israel. In an interview he gave to diplomat Aharon Miller, Hagel said: “The Jewish lobby intimidates many Americans. I have always argued against some of the dumb things they do because I don’t think it’s smart for Israel. I’m not an Israeli senator. I’m a United States senator,” quoted by Miller in 2008 book, ‘The Much Too Promised Land’.
Chuck Hagel is a Vietnam War veteran. He received two Purple Hearts for his service.
So what makes Hagel antisemitic in the eyes of the Jewish groups?
1. Hagel was very critical of president George Bush (pro-Israel) foreign policy. He was one of the three Republican senators who supported Democratic-sponsored bill in 2007 which called for the withrawal of US forces from Iraq within four months. Hagel actions were based on his hatred toward Jesw as Iraq was attacked and occupied for the security of Israel, according to Philip Zelikow, the Jewish Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, in his speech at the University of Virginia on September 10, 2002.
2. Hagel doesn’t agree with Washington, Ottawa and Tel Aviv that Lebanese Hizballah is a terrorist group. He agrees with European Union that there is no valid evidence to prove that Hizballah is involved in terrorism. The group uses its arms to defend its country from Israeli aggression.
3. In 2006, realizing that Jewish army could not defeat Hizballah fighters, as a friend of Israel, Hagel called both parties to stop fighting. However, he made a mistake to censor Israel by saying that Israeli was destroying an American friend, the country and people of Lebanon.
4. Hagel’s greatest sin is, he has voted against designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and also voted against Iran sanctions. The Emergency Committee for Israel has announced airing an ad on Thursday and Friday in Washington DC – to highlight Hagel’s antisemitic support for Iran.
5. Hagel has supported reduction in military spending and recalling all US forces from Afghanistan.
6. Hagel is chairman of the Atlantic Council. On December 11, 2012 – the group’s website posted an article, titled Israel’s Apartheid Policy.
Personally, I don’t know whether Chuck Hagel would have called for a gun control after the recent deadly shooting at the Sandy Hook school, killing 20 children including a 6-year-old Jewish kid. But Hagel’s fellow Republican, Michael Harris, GOP’s candidate for Governor of Arizona in a TV interview, has blamed Israeli death squads behind the bloodbath in Connecticut.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian 
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