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My Rahm Reunion
May 16, 2013 | 16 comments
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The Left Hates Us
May 9, 2013 | 143 comments
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Such a Dynamic Duo
May 2, 2013 | 49 comments
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The Continuing Crisis
May 1, 2013 | 0 comments
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Calvin Coolidge: His Times Are Our Times
April 26, 2013 | 22 comments
The Current Crisis
The Hagel Case
What makes him useful to President Obama?
WASHINGTON — Former senator Chuck Hagel is a suave, energetic, spirited fellow. He is intelligent, and from his early youth apparently patriotic and undoubtedly courageous. He showed that in Vietnam. Hagel has been a Republican senator and an accomplished businessman. Now he is President Barack Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense. Because he is President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense he is attracting dutiful scrutiny, and that is all to the good. This is not your ordinary presidency. In domestic policy and foreign policy President Obama is showing every indication of attempting to be an epochal president (with four million fewer votes for his second term than for his first).
That is to say, he poses a distinct break from Ronald Reagan’s model of government and even from Franklin Roosevelt’s. In the economy he seems to be resurrecting the welfare state on the model of France or perhaps Spain. In foreign policy he famously promises to “lead from behind,” as illogical as that sounds. In both areas his exemplars are sure losers, but his party and his partisans seem not to have noticed.
He is going to need very cunning cabinet leaders to accomplish his goals, particularly at the State Department and Defense. At State he will have if all goes well Senator Jean-François Kerry, who, as the Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto has perceptively noted, served in Vietnam. Kerry is eminently adept at leading from behind, so no problem. Is Hagel equal to the task? Actually, I think he is. He proved in his memoir published in 2006 a ready ability to juggle the facts, to mask the truth. Some call it casuistry.
I am in debt to my friend Seth Lipsky at the New York Sun for unearthing the corpus delicti. The quotes are misleading. They are meant to mislead. They leave the reader with the idea they were uttered when many had concluded that the Vietnam War was lost. Truth be known, they were uttered in May of 1964, well before LBJ even began his Vietnam buildup. Their purpose is to defame Lyndon Johnson and to discredit the Vietnam War.
Wrote Hagel in his memoir: “If you listen to the tapes released by the Johnson Library, on which President Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Richard Russell discuss Vietnam in the mid-1960s, you will hear President Johnson confess that we couldn’t win in Vietnam, but we couldn’t pull out because he didn’t want to be the first president to lose a war.” At the time President Johnson spoke those words to Senator Russell he had not begun the Vietnam buildup or even signed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Senator Russell goes on to express his misgivings about Vietnam, but nonetheless he eventually signed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Senator Hagel concludes: “The cold political calculation I heard on those tapes made me vow that I would never — ever — remain silent when that kind of thinking put more American lives at risk in any conflict.”
Hagel has been unreliable on other matters. He famously said in 2002 that, “Both Israelis and Palestinians are trapped in a war not of their making.” Yet when he said that he overlooked that the Palestinians were indiscriminately slaughtering Israeli civilians. The Israeli Defense Force was defending them and fighting Palestinian militiamen. There was no equivalence.
Since those days Hagel has said many things about the “Jewish lobby” and Israel and the war on terror, but for my money I would look to his memoir first. It reveals a slipperiness of character that suggests our present would-be epochal President has chosen an eminently useful candidate to head his Department of Defense. The question is, is Hagel useful to America?
About the Author
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. He is the author of The Death of Liberalism, published by Thomas Nelson Inc. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn’t Work: Social Democracy’s Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; The Clinton Crack-Up; and After the Hangover: The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery.
Giaccomo| 1.17.13 @ 6:55AM
Hagel’s attitude towards Israel is a distraction from the real issue. With this nomination Obama is presenting the Republicans a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” choice. If they oppose Hagel they will find themselves once again demonized in the press as obstructionist. If they don’t, then they will be giving Obama the appearance of bipartisanship as Hagel helps him pare back our military in order create savings that he will then plough back into social programs. The only honorable choice is to oppose Hagel.
Pecos Pete| 1.17.13 @ 10:58AM
I'd be proud to be labeled an obstructionist by the mindless MSM, progressives, liberals and Marxists. I'd vote not only NO, but HELL NO. And I'd explain my vote in terms that would certainly define me as a Patriot and a Strict Constitutionalist. Otherwise, we will simply squander the future inch by inch.
R Martin| 1.17.13 @ 7:33AM
The dismay Professor Trebach expressed earlier this week about Obama, reflects my feelings about the entire federal government. Our elected officials and their appointed bureaucrats are increasingly hypocrites, liars and manipulators and they are trying to remake our country in their own image. This trend cannot end well.
CJW| 1.17.13 @ 8:32AM
Obama is slick. He appoints two decorated Vietnam War veterans to carry out his policies of appeasing the Islamists and weakening our defense.
Von Mises Jr| 1.17.13 @ 9:13AM
Obama may be too clever by half. Events have a funny way of doing as they please.
Consider that Islamist assassinated and juiced in the caboose our Ambassador and we did nothing. The Iranians buzzed our drone and we were not even told about it until after the election. Then we did nothing. Now seven hostages are being held in Algeria and our Marines are standing by waiting for Orders doing nothing.
But that is all in a far distant land with unknown Diplomats, security and oil field workers. So who cares? Well I do and that is why I will avoid NYC and DC since emboldened Islamist terrorist are not content killing or holding a few hostages over there. They want to kill us over here. Perhaps that is when the liberal idiots will care.
Reality is a cruel teacher.
CJW| 1.17.13 @ 9:29AM
Saw on the news yesterday that Dept of Homeland, Janet Napolitano, did not deport some illegal alien, or undocumented, intern or friend of Senator Menendez. The intern was a registered sex offender. as opposed to an unregistered sex offender like Bubba.
Dai Alanye | 1.17.13 @ 9:19AM
And one of those heroes is a "hero." As the Swift Boat veterans proved, Kerry's heroism in Vietnam is almost entirely fictional.
TLP| 1.17.13 @ 1:33PM
What do you mean "Fictional"?
He blew up a Basket of Rice with a hand Grenade, and won a Purple Heart when some of the rice got lodged in his Ass.
You take that back!
Jack in Wi| 1.17.13 @ 8:20AM
Hagle has received the royal blessing of Chuck Schumer. He has groveled to the Lobby. You won't have to worry about him. His only purpose for Obama is to keep the military in line.He put Gates , a Republican, in charge of defense in his first term, for the same reason. I doubt if anyone is going to attack Iran. It has no nuclear weapons program and we all know it. The Israeli military and intelligence agencies have told us so. So have all the American combined intelligence agencies in the National Intelligence Estimates [ NIE ] of 2007 and 2011. It is time to do with Iran what Nixon did with China. Lets send an ambassador, open diplomatic relations and settle all differences. The Iranians have been asking us for this for at least 10 years. The world would be a far better place and the price of oil would collapse. Why should Americans pay for huge prices for fuel, just because a Nut-an-yahoo doesn't like it? Iran has never been a threat to us or even Israel, with it's hundreds of nuclear weapons.
R Martin| 1.17.13 @ 8:40AM
How does the silly blather of this guy get past whatever censors patrol this site, when TLP has to serve detention for his well-reasoned comments?
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.17.13 @ 9:24AM
Generally Jack doesn't use profanity; his inane comments inspire it in others.
TLP| 1.17.13 @ 4:22PM
Little Rickey.
We have a little Contest going on, tomorrow, at Monday's Story: "The Noble Savage".
Join us.
You won't be disappointed.
Jack in Wi| 1.17.13 @ 7:21PM
Everything I wrote in my comment is true and can't be refuted. The so called Hitler in Iran is retiring in 5 months to go back and teach civil engineering. Iran is a 3rd world country that threatens no-one period. Hagel once spoke some truth about Israel. He won't do that again working for Obama. That's for sure.
CJW| 1.17.13 @ 8:56AM
"Iran has never been a threat to us."
You are right Jack. I just saw the movie ARGO, it is fiction about a country named Iran taken over by a crazy Islamist named Khomeni, and his band of merry Mullahs. To break the monotomy from stoning young girls to death, they decide to storm the USA (our country) embassy and hold hostage the Americans for 444 days. Thank God it is fiction.
Doctor Right| 1.17.13 @ 1:37PM
So, Jack...
You trust the Israeli military and intelligence agencies when it serves your purposes...
...but not when they seek to defend themselves from a nation (Iran) that has threatened to wipe them off the face of the earth..?
And they have made that threat, Jack. To deny it means you're either ignorant, or you're a liar.
And I know you're both.
You are one of the dumbest people on this forum; you don't know A THING about what you post.
chuck| 1.17.13 @ 9:57PM
Jack is our very own Forrest Gump. IQ of 70, on a good day, and has meet every prominent leader, witnessed every important event, blah, blah, blah..........
What a dumbass!
ncatty| 1.17.13 @ 10:02AM
Whoever is nominated and confirmed for Sec/Def will be implementing Obama policy, not forming it. Let him have his nominee, and lets fight over the budget instead.
Doctor Right| 1.17.13 @ 1:33PM
The GOP is not going to fight for ANYTHING.
They are gutless and hopeless.
vtwin| 1.17.13 @ 11:31AM
“With four million fewer votes for his second term than for his first…” The result of Republican enacted voter suppression laws in a dozen states and hurricane Sandy. But still President Obama was and is the only presidential candidate in American history to receive over 60 million votes in a presidential election. President Obama surpassed this 60 million vote milestone not once but twice and both times Obama totals was closer to 70 million than 60 million votes.
TLP| 1.17.13 @ 1:37PM
Why don't you explain to the rest of us how some districts in Philadelphia, recorded OVER 100% of Registered Voters, on Election Night, after they Physically Removed the Republican Poll Watchers?
We'll wait for your Non Answer.
Joellen| 1.17.13 @ 4:21PM
How many of those 60 million votes were legit - of course we'll never know - but, hey let's make a contest out of it. Me, I say half of the 60.
In my BLUE state - dead dem's, illegals; CJW touched on Menendez's ILLEGAL sex offender intern, which I knew about a couple days prior to Nov 6, but gosh darn it, lame stream media is just hearing about it - Dejuvu all over again - like they just learned McGreasy was a Gay American the day he exposed it (no pun intended).
But I digress, so let's continue with the count, we have the dead, illegals, criminals, and of course in this state - dems get to vote twice.
So vermin, how many of the 60 million were legit?
TLP| 1.17.13 @ 4:22PM
Joellen.
We have a little Contest going on, tomorrow, at Monday's Story: "The Noble Savage".
Join us.
You won't be disappointed.
vtwin| 1.17.13 @ 4:41PM
Sounds like sour grapes, sweetheart.
vtwin| 1.17.13 @ 4:30PM
TLP, if you have any information about voter fraud in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may I suggest you contact Kathleen Kane the new Attorney General for the State of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
16th Floor, Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
717-787-3391
Please let us know how that turns out for you.
CJW| 1.17.13 @ 6:22PM
vtwin
That is great advice. The Democratic Attorney General of Pa, who worked for the Hillary campaign, will jump on investigating voter fraud that helped Obama. It will help her career as a Dem politician.
Keep those helpful comments coming, sweetheart.
RCV| 1.19.13 @ 5:26PM
Just tell us which districts you're referring to, CJW. No need to keep it a secret. (PS: it's a made up lie.)
RCV| 1.17.13 @ 6:52PM
List those districts, TLP. You can't, because they don't exist. This is another one of the "facts" that circulate among right wing losers like you that are simply make up. Come on, identify those particular districts for us so those responsible can be prosecuted.
Drunken Sailor| 1.17.13 @ 5:39PM
" result of Republican enacted voter suppression laws in a dozen states "
Please explain how the vote was suppressed? What method and how it affected those voters.
RAM| 1.17.13 @ 11:46AM
If Obama could clone himself to fill all Federal jobs, he'd do that. A Hagel type is the next best option---he'll follow all orders.
Doctor Right| 1.17.13 @ 1:33PM
What makes him useful to Mrs. Hagel..?
Drunken Sailor| 1.17.13 @ 5:40PM
His hatred for Israel for starters. His acceptance to be a puppet seals the deal.
Hardcard| 1.17.13 @ 5:42PM
I see down the road a piece mr.hagel taking a fall for his royal majesty odingobamba the great , remember general patraeus, bengazhi, the ambassador shot and sodimized and the three patiots killed with amb.stevens sounds a little fuzzy now, it's ancient history right? hagel will be thrown under the obus soon. boehner best be careful he may be the next FBI director.
Dimitry_Aleksandrovich| 1.17.13 @ 6:27PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Nakba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Dalet
As I said before since when has a pro-Israeli litmus test been required for "US" Secretary of Defense? Also outside of American evangelicals hoping to usher in Armageddon and the second coming of Christ I don't understand the American support for the nearly exclusive Jewish State that was literally built upon the expulsion of both Muslim and Christian Arabs from their ancient homeland in the Levant. From 1947 to 1949 Arab men women and children (both Christian and Muslim) were forcibly expelled from their homes with their being documented massacres such as Deir Yassin where Zionist forces killed Arab men women and children.
As for Hagel, to me he is just another Obama yes man. At best maybe Hagel can influence the President into not entangling our armed forces in any more endless conflicts and to stop funding the Islamist insurgency in Syria where CIA backed FSA rebels are bombing universities and highways in Aleppo and attacking Christian and Alawite towns and villages.
hrgfue | 1.17.13 @ 7:57PM
2013 Happy New Year,NFL,NBA,fashion kickoff for u