|
Trending Topics
|
About Chuck Hagel
(Washington Post) Aaron David Miller - In our 2006 interview, his writings and his voting record on military aid to Israel, Hagel has been clear that Israel is a small, democratic ally in a dangerous neighborhood worthy of support. Obama is the most controlling foreign policy and national security president since Richard Nixon. He dominates, not delegates, foreign policy decisions. Hagel would manage the drawdown and extrication from Afghanistan. But Obama wouldn't delegate much high policy to him. Hagel is certainly not a pacifist. He takes enormous pride in the U.S. military. He clearly is wary of getting involved in military adventures abroad in which the U.S. might end up owning faraway places that it can't control, let alone fix (see Syria). This isn't being soft, it's being smart. On Iran, Hagel hasn't ruled out the use of force, but he believes in going to great lengths to avoid it.