Hagel confirmed as U.S. defense secretary, bruised after political fight
CNN
By Halimah Abdullah
February 27, 2013
Chuck Hagel’s rocky and inauspicious path to leadership of the Pentagon could haunt him if he doesn’t watch his step.
“If people feel Hagel makes a mistake in the future, they will come after him even harder than if this ugly process of recent weeks hadn’t happened,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a co-author of “Bending History: Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy.”
The former Nebraska senator’s nomination as defense secretary was subject to harsh criticism from some fellow Republicans over past statements on sensitive political and national security matters.
His shaky performance at his confirmation hearing and the subsequent fierce political wrangling over his selection and on unrelated matters did not help his case.
But efforts to further delay his nomination were swept away on Tuesday as the Senate confirmed him, 58-41, with a handful of Republican votes in his corner. Hagel will be sworn in on Wednesday, succeeding Leon Panetta.
President Barack Obama, a former Senate colleague, called Hagel a patriot who “fought and bled for our country.”
Obama said he will count on Hagel’s “counsel and judgment” as the United States ends combat operations in Afghanistan and stays “ready to meet the threats of our time.”
The task for Hagel, 66, going forward is to swiftly move past the protracted nomination battle, prove himself a strong and capable Pentagon chief, and repair relationships on Capitol Hill, said Fran Townsend, a former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush.
“Of course, when he walks through the door he is bruised and battered. But I think we shouldn’t overestimate the impact of that,” Townsend said. “Frankly, once he is confirmed as secretary of defense and once he sits in the seat and takes on the mantle of responsibility, everyone in the Pentagon is going to stand up and salute smartly, as well they should.”
Hagel, a decorated Vietnam veteran, said in a statement that he was honored to have been nominated and confirmed, and pledged to work closely with Congress to “ensure that we maintain the strongest military in the world.”
With Hagel’s confirmation, Obama has put in place another crucial piece of his second-term national security team. John Kerry has been installed as secretary of state and John Brennan is awaiting Senate action on his nomination to be CIA director. Thomas Donilon is already serving as national security adviser.
O’Hanlon said Hagel would not “be damaged goods” and the political outcry over his nomination would quickly be overshadowed by the latest budget drama engulfing Washington over spending cuts, which would hit the Pentagon hard, if enacted.
Bad feelings about Hagel stem, in part, from his 2007 comments that the “Jewish lobby intimidated lawmakers.” Republicans who are already uncomfortable with Obama’s policies toward Israel are uneasy about a defense secretary holding such views.
Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, said in a statement that Israel “looks forward to working closely” with Hagel.
Hagel’s criticism of the Iraq War, the Patriot Act, and his past positions on Iran and on U.S. military intervention also raised red flags with his opponents.
Read on: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/26/politics/hagel-battle/index.html
