Hagel Pledges Total Support for Israel
US President Barack Obama’s nominee for defense secretary has pledged total support for Israel after he came under attack by lawmakers over his ‘anti-Tel Aviv’ views.
There is "not one shred of evidence that I'm anti-Israeli, not one [Senate] vote [of mine] that matters that hurt Israel," Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator, said on Monday.
Pro-Israeli lawmakers have accused Hagel of having made comments against the Israeli lobby in the United States.
Obama’s pick for the Pentagon chair dismissed allegations against him as falsehoods and distortions.
Earlier in the day, Obama said at a press conference at the White House that Hagel is "the leader our troops deserve,” praising his “willingness to speak his mind."
The US president called the former Nebraska senator "an American patriot," who earned "respect of national security and military leaders, Republicans, and Democrats, including me."
Hagel left the Senate in 2008. He sometimes spoke against Israel, voted against sanctions on Iran, and even made blunt comments about the influence of the "Jewish lobby" in Washington.
The 66-year-old was the first Republican senator to publicly criticize the war in Iraq, calling it the worst foreign policy blunder since the Vietnam War, and has consistently opposed any plan to launch a military strike against Iran.
Source: Press TV
Pro-Israeli lawmakers have accused Hagel of having made comments against the Israeli lobby in the United States.
Obama’s pick for the Pentagon chair dismissed allegations against him as falsehoods and distortions.
Earlier in the day, Obama said at a press conference at the White House that Hagel is "the leader our troops deserve,” praising his “willingness to speak his mind."
The US president called the former Nebraska senator "an American patriot," who earned "respect of national security and military leaders, Republicans, and Democrats, including me."
Hagel left the Senate in 2008. He sometimes spoke against Israel, voted against sanctions on Iran, and even made blunt comments about the influence of the "Jewish lobby" in Washington.
The 66-year-old was the first Republican senator to publicly criticize the war in Iraq, calling it the worst foreign policy blunder since the Vietnam War, and has consistently opposed any plan to launch a military strike against Iran.
Source: Press TV
