Mike Allen may have spoken too soon when he reported last week that the Chuck Hagel trial balloon had popped. RightScoop and Gestetner Updates both report that the White House phoned Jewish leaders last night to inform them that Hagel will be nominated for defense secretary this week. But probably the biggest indicator that Hagel is still in the running is that Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations told a radio host yesterday that he would most likely be nominated on Monday.
“It’s most likely that on Monday they will announce that Hagel will be the choice. It’s obviously something that raised a lot of concern,” Hoenlein told talk show host Zev Brenner. “I think it is something that we’ll live with and we’ll work with him, whoever is in office. But … his past statements and his past record on a lot of issues–not just Jewish issues, I think American issues–raised concerns.”
It’s not clear what information Hoenlein’s comments were based on. He told the Algemeiner he didn’t receive a phone call from the White House and doesn’t know anyone who did, which has been the general response from Jewish community figures I’ve reached out to about this. That doesn’t mean the phone call reports are wrong, just that they’re still very hazy at this point.
Obama also defended Hagel on Meet the Press this morning, which some see as a sign he’s preparing to nominate him. But keep in mind, Obama also defended Susan Rice from attacks on her potential secretary of state nomination, and we know how that turned out. Obama was responding to a direct question about criticism of Hagel this morning, so he really had no choice but to stick up for him–Hagel is still on his intelligence advisory board.
The bottom line is that Hagel’s potential nomination isn’t as dead as it looked last week. It sounds like we should know for sure by tomorrow afternoon.
Hagel for SecDef It will be the second most interesting confirmation hearing this year (EPA more so). n nI look forward to hearing his answers. n n
Obama's JIHAD against the Jewish State. n1. Former US Ambassador to the UN Bolton says Obama could have prevented UN Palestinian vote if he had wanted to (google Bolton, UN, Palestinian) n2. Obama trying to fund UNESCO (google Obama, UNESCO) n3. Georgia President said US Ambassador told him to vote for the Palestinian resolution in the UN (google Georgia, US Ambassador, UN, Palestine)
4. Obama's broken promise to support a united, Israeli u05d9u05e8u05d5u05e9u05dcu05d9u05dd ?
Great, an anti-Semitic homophobe. I feel like Pat Buchanan is President.
Hagel is as much an anti-Semite as noted radical islamist Jennifer Rubin
Jennifer Rubin? Isn't she part of Hagel's "Jewish Lobby"? n nMaybe Hagel will do a reading from the Protocols at his hearing. I'm sure he has them committed to heart. n nHagel of course matters little per se. What really is notable is that Obama is willing to go to the mat to get a man as his SecDef who sees "the Jews" as the instigators of our problems in international affairs. That speaks volumes about Obama and where he plans to take this country and the world in his the second installment of his rule. n nObama wants an anti-Semite as his SecDef and he wants him badly. So badly he doesn't mind a strong dose of homophobia and a poisonous confirmation battle. Well, he's going to get one.
you can't count on a difficult nomination–some Republican Senators will support him out of collegiality, the Jewish community "leadership" will probably not vigorously oppose his nomination, the GOP Senate caucus in general is getting overloaded by budgetary conflicts, and Israel has given no indication that Israeli politicians with weight could care less. People have to choose their battles and despite Lindsay Graham's prediction of minimal GOP support this is not necessarily the battle a critical mass feel compelled to wage.
It will be a difficult nomination, The only Republican who might vote for Hagel when this is done is Rand Paul, I think, and Hagel is going to be a tough sell not only for Jewish Democrats but for a number of the moderate ones (apparently he gets a pass on hating "aggressive homosexuals"). Hagel's only constituency is Israel-haters on the far left and the far right. They love this guy because they know he's one of them. n nThis nomination will be a testament to Obama's own contempt for Israel and amazing hubris. I never thought I would see the day when someone who goes around denouncing the "Jewish lobby" was given a major cabinet post. Maybe Pat Buchanan can become a White House speechwriter again at this rate.
We disagree then K_P. Tactically Obama is a cautious politician. If he nominates Hagel it will be because he thinks he has or is close to having a secured vote. Contempt imo is too active an emotion for a man who is capable of a general detachment from other people parallel to his certainty as to his own importance. That distance and sense of superiority is pretty generalized. That said he does have ideological commitments that are basic to his make-up including his desire to mollify followers of de Prophet. And Israel falls well outside that. But even with his temperament, his biases, his anti-Zionist background Israel can do too much damage to his intended place in history to merit contempt.
nah, Rubin is only pretending to be a known idiot she's not really one, like that Abe Greenjeans. there's plenty of evidence that she's an Islamist terrorist sympathizer, just like there's evidence that Hagel's an anti-Semite.
not every non sequitur counts as an analogy n
Obama is making fools of his pro-Israel supporters. As predicted.
well, those jews who voted for Obama-sadly the majority- msut become contortionists to defend the upcoming hagel nomination. As has been said by the unblinkered commentators, Obama is no friend of israel and could not give a hoot about its security. It is time for Israel to return the favor at the upcoming elections!
Not to mention gays will have to swallow Hagel's avowed belief that "aggressive homosexuals" should not be allowed to hold even ceremonial positions in the government. They can't even be ambassadors to Luxembourg, apparently. But it's worth it all to Democrats to get an Israel-hater in a high profile position in the cabinet apparently.
Obama is not an anti-Semite, but he is very insensitive to Israel and its needs. That makes him a very typical left-winger. Most American Jews are also typical left-wingers and thus they will not be influenced by the arguments used against Hagel.
no, track, Obama is insensitive to Netanyahu's needs….not Israel's.
Yeah, sure, tell that Israel. Like you care.
are you THAT much a creep that you would pretend that you know whether I care about Israel? n nkiss off, momzer.
Wait I got it… Rocco from Key Largo.
it's a pleasure to argue with you., besht.
At some point ldubinsky you might consider briefly stating some of your assumptions, some theses. Otherwise these reactive put-downs imo just come over the transom. You may assume these are self-evidently grounded in obvious facts but the positive principles motivating them have to be inferred or guessed at imo.
fair point
You reveal yourself for what you are for all to see.
And Netanyahu is not the elected head of the Israeli government, right, Dub? No, that can't be it. I mean, Obama is more sensitive to Israel's needs than the average Israeli, right, Dub?
and being the elected head of the government is of varying worth, aha. n nHamas was elected, as was Chavez…. and they were chosen by a majority…which is certainly something that Bibi can't claim.
Got it. So you are saying Netanyahu is less representative of the Israeli electorate than Hamas and Chavez are of their electorates, and that you and Obama therefore are better and more legitimate judges of Israel's needs than Netanyahu is. n nCan you hear yourself, Dub? Do you have any inkling why people like Killer_Paisley think you don't care about Israel's needs? n nFor myself, I give you the benefit of the doubt. I think that both you and l'havdil Obama have convinced yourselves that you do care, but that you are both so delusional on what Israel's needs are, as on so many other topics, that your "support" is of very limited value. (By the way, my willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt is much more limited than my willingness to give it to you.) And in your case, it appears that you have so replaced reality with your idolization of Obama that you are willing to swallow uncritically whatever line he hands you.
way I remember it, aha, Netanyahu's party finished in second place in that election and formed the government only after Tzipi failed to find dance partners….so yeah, if you didn't finish with 50% of the votes you prolly are a little less representative. n n nand thanks for your near vote of confidence, and I certainly do care about Israel's needs, I merely disagree with what some shtarkers claim those needs to be. n n( I don't idolize Obama, buddy)
I don't recall which party finished first, Dub, but as you know, Israel's government has always been based on coalition politics, and it is rare for any party to get a majority. Israel does not have a 2 party system, and with so many parties, the question is not how many people voted for your party so much as how many people voted for your party and like minded parties. Granted, the theory sometimes works better than the practice, and each party engages in horse trading to assemble a coalition. In Bibi's case, a majority did not agree with the voters for Livni's party. n nSo if you sincerely believe that no Israeli PM can legitimately speak for Israel unless his party wins a majority, then there have been few or no legitimate PM's in Israeli history. And if you think the party that wins the plurality should select the PM even if a majority does not agree with that party, then again you are setting yourself up as a better judge than the Israelis. n nAgain, I give you the benefit of the doubt that you are sincere and that your view on this topic is not the convenient result of your dislike for Netanyahu for not being an Obama TL.
Hussein Obama an anti-Semite? I think it too soon to judge. But he apparently shares the Sharia view that Jews should behave like Dhimmis in their own land: forbidding them to build on their own land, supporting a judenrein Judea and Samaria, denying that Jerusalem is their capital, admitting their prime minister through the White House's servants entrance, and refusing to visit their country despite trips to its neighboring states.
If obama nominates hagel, the only reason to do so is to say: "Screw up, chump Jews. You putzes voted for me even thought it's plain to see that I hate Israel, hate you stupid, rich white Jews and am going with hagel precisely to let you know what I think of you. Screw you, and thanks for the votes." n
Obama hates Israel only because the Israelis stabbed Germany in the back and caused it to lose WWI n n nYou make a lot of sense.
No, of course, he'd nominate hagel because of his unparalleled managerial skills, his deep experience with defense issues and military matters, and the fact that there's no other individual in the country who could fill the shoes of L. Panetta. Right, talk about making sense. Clearly, if it's hagel, it's merely to twist knife a bit and make sure he's making good eye contact with tools like dubinsky. Thanks for the vote, sucker. What would you expect from the Farrakhan/Wright disciple? Or maybe he just needs to shore up the buchanan wing of his coalition?
Israel needs to jettison the F-35 program ASAP. Let Hagel sort out the economics of that boondoggle. No reason to hand the US that club to bludgeon Israel with.
good thinking, Your Horsesassness. Israel shouldn't allow the USA to protect it. We've never done a thing for Israel.
do you think in crayon too?
it was burnt umber till my teens, then it got all Day-Glo till my girlfriend spent summer on a kibbutz and picked up a heroin habit.
Can't really blame the girl, what with having to listen to your droning and after catching crabs from you,
we were college freshmen, Abe….at she was all of 17 and older and more worldly than was I…….. n n n
Shocking. I heard that the age of majority in the US was 36. The crazy 60s, I suppose.
Oh, almost forgot, dubinsky. For addressing our Imperial Highness incorrectly, we'll have to parachute you into Isfahan. After plastering your face with gaudy makeup, dressing you in something sexy….and whilst holding a bottle of bourbon in one hand and a burning Koran and a colletion of Mohammed caricatures in the other. Preferably on a late afternoon during Ramadan, just when the locals are a bit cranky.
Abe, try not to get too frisky……. it reminds me of the bad old days at this site, when comments were very gross and silly…….. n nand which caused me to become far more gross than most everyone 'cept the demented, drunken and pretty witty old guy with the Russian name and initials AA…. n nand which ended in all comments being banned.
A fair warning. I present my apologies and withdraw the indelicate reference to the bourbon. No living man's sins deserve such a harsh sanction. All may mark that you will be supplied with a bottle of smooth and civilized single malt from my ancestral home of Islay. Do try to quaff it all up on the way down, though, old boy; would't want it wasted on some provincial mullah.
why, that's most generous of ya, AA….and I promise to treat the thing appropriately and prevent it from any untoward quaffing by sending it straight along to my friend and former contentions stalwart C K MacLeod…….unless, of course, there's some clan conflict twixt yourn and his'n.
You have jumped the shark. I'm no fan of Hagel but a reluctance to sign ritual AIPAC letters and to attack Iran are his calling cards, they are to his credit n n
Hagel's soft on the Jews, eh?
You're no fan of Hagel, but you do like a good Israel hater.
I've got a better idea. Why don't you go jump on a shank?
late 60s
Phone calls to ones senators, congressman should continue unabated and business people should cut off discretionary funding, to the maximum.
This one is worth fighting for because it will complicate Iran and the critical re-stocking of Israel’s military needs, even following through on orders to be delivered. It is too great a gamble. Take him out.
Obama will be all too happy to rubber stamp Hagel.
Kerry will be a mirror image of Hagel at state, who will use his senate voting record to rationalize his curious logic.
Fight it tooth and nail. Don’t let Kerry have a cake walk either.
Netanyahu's Israel, AIPAC, Israel Firsters and ingenious distribution of enormous amounts of Jewish money have corrupted our electoral system and successfully involved us continuing wars against our interests. Chuck Hagel is one of few who has resisted. The Government of the United States must again serve American interests, not Israel's relentless pursuit of invulnerability, territorial conquest and apartheid supremacist empire in, and beyond, the Mideast.
I'm impressed that you wrote Jewish money instead of Jew money. You're getting positively soft on Jews in your old age.
JohnWV’s mindset, CAIR, anti-Semitic firsters and ingenious distribution of enormous amounts of money of those hating the Jewish people have corrupted our electorial system and successfully involved us in continuing wars against our interests. Chuck Hagel is a perfect example. The Government of the United States must again serve American interests – learning equality, love of democracy, and that a person or nation is a person or nation – no matter how small, not anti-Semitic, Jewish hater’s relentless pursuit of demonizing, delegitimizing, and applying a double standard to the Jewish people and the state of Israel.
Israel's interests are ours. She's a prosperous democracy which is a loyal ally of the US. She is a militarily powerful nation in a very dangerous part of the world that is an incubator for threats that can reach the US. Of course many of us Jews have an attachment due to religion. But look at the polls: many non Jews have a strong attachment as well due to the aforementioned compatibility of interests mentioned.
Israel is a settler-colonial mini-state inhabited by religious fanatics and gold-chained vulgarians, where priests and nuns are spat upon, and a thuggish rabble of an army, whining about the murder of their grandparents, rains death upon its neighbors. Death merchant to the pariah states of the world, burner and jailer of children, robber of land that preens herself of her morality, corrupter of American politics, and insofar as democratic, dysfunctional and corrupt subsidizer of pedophile rabbis. n nGeorge Marshall was right. The creation of Israel gave rise to a strategic and moral albatross, rotting around the neck of the United States.
You actually sound like a holocaust denier in the mold of Willis Carto or Ernst Zundel. I mean that quite literally.
Grumpy, this post is really unbecoming to anyone who wants to participate in a serious dialogue about important policies. I can't believe you wrote this in a moment of reflection.
he reads like the consumed, hysterical, spittle spewing wacko he is. In his delusion, n n is there something the JEws are NOT guilty of? n nI can see him now, playing with himself, muttering jewjewjew
aroundthetrack, I can't believe Grumpy ever had a moment of reflection since the day he was born. Nor would I ever number that Jew-hater among those who want to participate in a serious dialogue about important policies.
An example of a senior having his moment.
Ha ha ha ha ha!
not that facts matter to this wacko n n"Following are excerpts from an address by Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security Fathi Hammad, aired by Al-Hekma TV on March 23, 2012." n(..) n"…Palestinian Arab nationalism does not reflect any inherent peoplehood but rather it is a political fiction created only in the twentieth century, and only to destroy Zionism. And Fathi Hammad knows the truth, as do many other Arabs. They just won’t be caught dead saying it to Westerners." n n n….Al-Aqsa and the land of Palestine represent the spearhead for Islam and for the Muslims. Therefore, when we seek the help of our Arab brothers, we are not seeking their help in order to eat, to live, to drink, to dress, or to live a life of luxury. No. When we seek their help, it is in order to continue to wage Jihad. n[...] nAllah be praised, we all have Arab roots, and every Palestinian, in Gaza and throughout Palestine, can prove his Arab roots – whether from Saudi Arabia, from Yemen, or anywhere. We have blood ties. So where is your affection and mercy? n[...] nPersonally, half my family is Egyptian. We are all like that. More than 30 families in the Gaza Strip are called Al-Masri ["Egyptian"]. Brothers, half of the Palestinians are Egyptians and the other half are Saudis. n nWho are the Palestinians? We have many families called Al-Masri, whose roots are Egyptian.Egyptian! They may be from Alexandria, from Cairo, from Dumietta, from the North, from Aswan, from Upper Egypt. We are Egyptians. We are Arabs. We are Muslims. We are a part of you. n nAllah Akbar. All praise to Allah. Allah Akbar. How can you keep silent, oh Muslims, when the people of Gaza are dying? You watch from the sidelines without providing them with the simplest thing, which you give to the West for the most meager price. n[...]
You forgot to add Heil Hitler at the end of that rant. n nIck. Could you get any more odious?
Carl Sandberg you'll never be, Grumpy. But would that he were where you are and you were where he is.
Is this best read while listening to the Horst Wessel song?