Editorial: Hagel's Strengths

Some label Chuck Hagel unfit for the role of defense secretary. They express concern over his stance on Israel or call him soft on the use of force. Others refer to a distant remark seen as insensitive to homosexuals.

Certainly he has raised eyebrows with comments such as “the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here,” the “up here” referring to Washington’s Capitol Hill. And although he cast his vote in favor of the Iraq war in 2002, he pulled his support as the conflict wore on and the initial cause—weapons of mass destruction—turned out to be false.

Yet Hagel’s voting record shows the Nebraska Republican to be consistent in his support of proper military aid to Israel. As part of the Secretary of Defense’s advisory committee and Co-Chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, he sits in the maelstrom of information, analysis and diplomacy that informs our foreign course.

His time in combat also makes Hagel aware of military goals from the ground up.

Like many Nebraskans, he is also imbued with Midwestern pragmatism. This allows him to understand conflicting voices and assess problems from a realistic standpoint, rather than the simplistic ‘with us or against us’ mentality that guides so many on Capitol Hill.

Hagel’s occasional criticism of Israel, his withdrawal of support for war in Iraq, his assertion that the Pentagon’s budget could be pared without harming America’s ability to strike are all based on a study of reality and policy goals.

We could ask little more from a Secretary of Defense.

Certainly there are men and women equally qualified for the post. But for influential voices right and left to challenge Hagel’s nomination based upon their own narrow ideological assumptions would be to wrongly deny an able public servant an honest hearing.

Such posturing hurts this country in the long run.