The Hagel senate hearing

 

Opinions?  pl

Comments

[Will Reks]

I thought it was a shameful display of disrespect and hubris on the part of our elected leaders. John McCain showed us once again how unfit he was for the office of President but the worst of the lot to me is that chickenhawk Ted Cruz.

The reasons for it though are fairly clear. Hagel is seen as a traitor for joining the Obama Administration by these fools who put party and partisan politics ahead of country.

McCain of course is mostly motivated by the blow to his ego over Hagel's comments on the Iraq War and The Surge(tm).

[steve g]

We can all thank our lucky stars
Mr. Beau Coup Dinky Dau was not
elected in 08 with She Wolf number
two as no doubt we would be in
more wars and a hair trigger pull
away from Nuclear Armaggedon.

[Jake]

Both McCain and Graham are living on another planet.
McCain seems to have no problem overlooking a war of choice advanced by a lie that has take so many americans to their graves and disfigure thousands more so that he can make outragious claims of historic success.. The surge was a complete and total failure. History? He calls the current situation in Iraq a historic success? Admiral(s) McCain must be turning over in their graves...
Graham? This guy has to be related to one of the Marx Brothers... OK Senator try this question. Next week I want you to sponsor legislation compelling Israel to join the NPT. Lets see how the Jewish Lobby does not react to that. Now dumb things? Lets see.. How about allowing a non-treaty country to use 25% of its US Military Aid to directly support its own private enterprises. Matter of fact Senator Graham, Israel is the only one allowed to do that.
By the way, our nuke issue? Try reading Admiral Jerry Millers book titled Stockpile...
Cruz is another one from the Marx Brother family.
As an American I was ashamed on how Hagel was treated today.

[Medicine Man]

I try to avoid watching these things. I heard it was all sound and fury with little actual content. A lot of angry old men grilling Hagel and trying to pretend that their judgment about Iraq was sound. Hagel, for his part, was trying to be as bland and inoffensive as possible; probably fully aware that his nomination has become a game of political kickball.

[michael rush]

Hagel can learn and change and grow. McCain demands that an old friend bow to him and his errors. The awful Graham and Cruz fester in their bilious selves. Rubio should keep his mouth shut.

[JCR]

In my opinion it was somewhat depressing. John McCain came across, at least to me, as sadly degenerating into a "bitter old man". Note: I am a few years older than McCain. I had not realized that Jim Inhofe was the ranking member of this very important committee with the opportunity to become Chairman if the Republicans regain control of the Senate. The contrast between John Warner, the very impressive former Chairman and Inhofe was striking. If this link (http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175644/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_chuck_hagel_and_murder_in_vietnam/) comes anywhere close to describing the Hagel brothers in Viet Nam, Chuck Hagel is, in my opinion, the absolute best choice for the job and barring a filibuster, I think he will be confirmed and the country will certainly be the better for it.

[johnf]

Man who said Israel Lobby intimidates people intimidated by Israel Lobby into saying Israel Lobby doesn't intimidate people.

Let's hope he was eating humble pie and not really intimidated. Paris is worth a mass.

Couldn't blatant and bullying behaviour like this by certain Jews and their supporters in public in the end prove possibly catastrophic for American Jews in general?

[Alba Etie]

Hagel still gets the nomination - in spite the usual suspects voting against his being Secretary of Defense.

[Clifford Kiracofe]

Full of sound and fury signifying....Zionism.

[CK]

A walking man with two purple hearts who is already walking back any reality based opinions he might have uttered --- and ---
A flyer with 5 lost airplanes, much married wealth and more than a whiff of the old collaborator about him.
The irrelevance of these two people is stunning.

[jonst]

Basically, just keep your mouth relatively shut Chuck, bob and weave out of giving direct answers back (such "answers", by the way the ostensible reason you are nominated in the first place)to old buffoons. And you will be Sec of Def. Now, as to WHY you want to be Sec of Def, if you can't give honest, correct, and *long overdue* "answers",(aka as 'bursts of fresh air') that is a question between you and your conscience I guess. You think it worthwhile to perpetuate more nonsense....have at it. You would have better served your nation by telling to go defecate in their hats....and then giving them, right on top of their noggins, over 15 years of pent up truths. These truths--loudly-- need to be spoken...more than we need you at the DOD.

[John Minnerath]

McCain's public display was disgusting as were those by a number of others who acted as though their duty was to the State of Israel rather than the US.
Hagel may get approved, but he'll enter his job severely wounded.

[Lars]

Opinions, from the hearing:

Rope-a-dope still works.

Israel must be the most important country in the world.

Sen. Cruz (Rookie-TX) has taken over the role of Village Idiot from Sen. DeMint (Reaper-SC)in the US Senate.

[Matthew]

Col: When I became a citizen, Sen. Howard Baker asked us new citizens to say the Pledge of Allegience. Since I only pledged allegience to the United States of America does that disqualify me from government service?

[PS]

Nothing I've ever read about Hagel supports the limp performance he gave yesterday. I hope that was because he was advised to (1) do no harm and (2) let the Republican Senators show how crazy they are. Cruz' line about Al-Jazeera being a propaganda outlet shows why these guys still don't have a clue about MENA because they believe FoxNews' reporting is representative of reality.

[Nightsticker]

Colonel Lang,

Opinions set forth below-

Hagel will be confirmed.
He will remember the people
who treated him so outrageously.
When he presides over the coming
reduction of the military industrial
complex he will have a chance to more than
even the score if he chooses [revenge
is a dish best served cold].

Nightsticker
USMC 65-72
FBI 72-96

[William R. Cumming]

Two points IMO! McCain may well still vote for Hagel on the floor even if not in committee.

And as to Israeli intimidation--Hagel had to duck in order to avoid disclosing what he and others had experienced while in the Senate. That includes resisting efforts to release a certain Israeli spy and squelching any investigation into the destruction of the Liberty among others or investigation into how Israel obtained enriched uranium in quantities to build 500 bombs. Definition of intimidation may be in the eye of the beholder and in this case eye of the recipient!

[Jose]

I support Hagel's nomination, but he looked unqualified for the office. Didn't anybody prep him for the hard questions that were coming? Every poster is good at making fun of the Senators, but Hagel is an embarrassment.

[Charles I]

Did you mean Senator McCain, or Senator McCarthy? YES OR NO?!

[Cal]

"Full of sound and fury signifying....Zionism."

That is what was behind 90% of the Senate attack.
It's mainly about Israel and bombing Iran.

McCain's attacking Hagel on the troop surge wasn't about the troop surge-- is was about Hagel being everything MCCain isn't...Hagel was regular guy American war hero--McCain was royal fuck up all his life, including in the AF, and phoney war hero...McCain has always been a psycho.

I felt like I was watching a Senate "McCarthy hearing" on Hagel's 'subversive activies' to undermine Israel.

Stick a fork in Washington, it's done....until and unless something changes the I-First domination.

[Cal]

"Hazel may get approved, but he'll enter his job severely wounded"

Not necessarily, Once Hagel's in, he's in. All the zios can do is complain to O after that. And once in, there are a myriad of things that Hagel can do to slam some doors on Israel's intrusiveness into US defense.

I might tell the senate waterborders what they want to hear --let them torture a confession out of me----but that wouldn't change my beliefs or opinions.... won't change Hagels either. Will only harden tham.

[Cal]

"You would have better served your nation by telling to go defecate in their hats"

Are you doing anything like that? Doing your part or just whinning on the internet? Put your money where your mouth is folks. This is the fax I sent to the Senators below when the Weekly Standard headlined the email Senator Kirk's aide, Goldberg, sent out.

ATTENTION....FOR THIS:

“SENATE AIDE: SEND US HAGEL AND WE WILL MAKE SURE EVERY AMERICAN KNOWS HE IS AN ANTI SEMITE”"…Bill Kristol – Jewish Lobby – Kirk’s Goldberg -Weekly Standard Headline

YOU WILL GET THIS...

” AND WE WILL MAKE SURE EVERY AMERICAN KNOWS THAT YOU ARE TRAITORS TO THIS COUNTRY AND ANTI AMERICAN.

Fax Numbers as of Jan. 1, 2013

Kirk – Goldberg 202 228 4611
Lindsey Graham – 202 224 3808
Tom Coburn – 202 224 6008
Mitch McConnell- 202 224 2499
Chuck Schumer 202 228 3027
Bill Nelson – 202 228 2183
Saxley Chambliss 202 224 0103
Robert Menendez 202 228 2197
Ted Cruz—no fax yet—Ph 202 224 5922
Pat Roberts – 202 224 3514
John Cornyn 202 228 2856
Mark Rubio 202 228 0285
Rob Portman – 202 224 9075
John McCain 202 228 2862

For good measure:
Harry Reid- 202 224 7327
John Kerry – 202 224 8525
Paul Rand – 202 228 6917

Want to get rid of Israel and the zionist?---THEN BE LOUDER AND MORE AGRESSIVE. THE 'TRAITOR' ACCUSATION TRUMPS ANTI SEMITE ANY DAY.

[Andrew]

I kept expecting Graham to present Hagel with a full glass of zionist man-milk and both he and McCain to shout at him "will you drink this or not". Answer the question, yes, or no. Then Ayote would rush on-screen, take that glass and down it, then looking at Hagel in disdain, exclaims "anti semite"... (sorry for the grotesque imagery...the US is becoming a Monty Python skit).

[Matthew]

Nightsticker: If only.

[turcopolier]

nightsticker

Payback really IS a bitch. pl