Tough Questions for Hagel at Hearing:
Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense, had some sharp exchanges with Senator John McCain.
WASHINGTON — Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, faced sharp and sometimes angry questioning from fellow Republicans — especially his old friend Senator John McCain — at a contentious confirmation hearing on Thursday that focused on his past statements on Iran, the influence of pro-Israel organizations in Washington and the Iraq war.
Mr. Hagel, 66, a former senator from Nebraska and a decorated Vietnam veteran who would be the first former enlisted combat soldier to be secretary of defense, often seemed tentative in his responses. Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee showed him little deference, cross-examining him like prosecutors and often cutting him off.
There was dismay from Democrats and derision from Republicans about Mr. Hagel’s sometimes stumbling performance during seven and a half hours of testimony.
“I’m going to be candid,” Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat and committee member, told MSNBC. “I think that Chuck Hagel is much more comfortable asking questions than answering them.”
She added: “That’s one bad habit I think you get into when you’ve been in the Senate. You can dish it out, but sometimes it’s a little more difficult to take it.”
One Republican on the committee, Senator Mike Lee of Utah, said bluntly, “Senator Hagel did little to help himself today.”
The angriest exchange of the hearing occurred with Mr. McCain of Arizona, a fellow Vietnam veteran who was a close friend of Mr. Hagel in the Senate, but split with him because of Mr. Hagel’s skeptical views on the Iraq war. Mr. McCain was a strong supporter of the war, and like many Republicans, he still holds Mr. Hagel’s opposition against him. In 2008, Mr. Hagel did not endorse Mr. McCain for president and traveled with Mr. Obama, then a senator from Illinois, to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Hagel dodged a direct answer as Mr. McCain asked him repeatedly if history would judge whether he was right or wrong in opposing the surge in American armed forces in 2007. The escalation, along with other major factors, is credited with helping to quell the violence in Iraq at the time. When Mr. Hagel said he wanted to explain, Mr. McCain bore in.
“I actually would like an answer, yes or no,” Mr. McCain said.
“Well, I’m not going to give you a yes or no,” Mr. Hagel replied.
Mr. McCain did not let up.
“I think history has already made a judgment about the surge, sir, and you’re on the wrong side of it,” Mr. McCain said. “And your refusal to answer whether you were right or wrong about it is going to have an impact on my judgment as to whether I vote for your confirmation or not.”
It took the next questioner, Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, to draw Mr. Hagel out on the subject. “I did question a surge,” Mr. Hagel said. “I always ask the question, is this going to be worth the sacrifice?”
He said that nearly 1,200 American men and women had lost their lives in the surge and that thousands more were wounded. “I’m not that certain that it was required,” Mr. Hagel said. “Now, it doesn’t mean I’m right, doesn’t mean I didn’t make wrong votes.”
One of the most hostile questioners was Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who told Mr. Hagel to “name one dumb thing we’ve been goaded into doing because of the pressure from the Israeli or Jewish lobby.” Mr. Hagel, who in 2006 said that the “Jewish lobby” intimidates Congress, could not.
Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, surprised the hearing when he put excerpts from an interview Mr. Hagel gave to Al Jazeera in 2009 on a giant video screen. Although it was difficult to hear the short clips he provided, Mr. Cruz asserted that they showed Mr. Hagel agreeing with a caller who suggested that Israel had committed war crimes.
“Do you think the nation of Israel has committed war crimes?” Mr. Cruz demanded.
“No, I do not, Senator,” Mr. Hagel replied.
Hagel Offers Endorsement of U.S. Military Might
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Hagel Offers Endorsement of U.S. Military Might
