on chuck hagel becoming secretary of defense

[Shady]

Technically Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy and a Federal Parliamentary Democracy.

This way you and Shady are both right and can stop being children for a page or two.

Correction. He was the one acting like a child.

[punked]

The supreme leader runs the show. The queen does not.

According the constitution of both countries what is what Shady?

[Shady]

According the constitution of both countries what is what Shady?

Yep, we're just like Iran. Whatever you say dude.

[punked]

Yep, we're just like Iran. Whatever you say dude.

I am pointing out you know nothing about Iran and that you speak about subjects you don't know about all the time. Someone could point to Canada and say the same thing, they would be wrong a stupid. Stop taking quotes out of context, Hagel said the President of Iran is elected by the people and thus legitimate that is true. I know you hate Iran but you still know nothing about them which you have proven by not making your argument at all.

[Shady]

I am pointing out you know nothing about Iran and that you speak about subjects you don't know about all the time. Someone could point to Canada and say the same thing, they would be wrong a stupid. Stop taking quotes out of context, Hagel said the President of Iran is elected by the people and thus legitimate that is true. I know you hate Iran but you still know nothing about them which you have proven by not making your argument at all.

That's not what he said, and even if it was, there are huge problems with the Iranian so-called elections. Every international rights group agrees. But there really isn't any reason to continue this conversation. You're so in the tank for Obama that you're willing to look past a brutal dictatorial regime that abuses it's people. All for the sake of your hero's nominee. Stay classy!

[punked]

That's not what he said, and even if it was, there are huge problems with the Iranian so-called elections. Every international rights group agrees. But there really isn't any reason to continue this conversation. You're so in the tank for Obama that you're willing to look past a brutal dictatorial regime that abuses it's people. All for the sake of your hero's nominee. Stay classy!

Instead of what Shady? This coming from a guy who supported Hosni Mubarak. You want to preach about dictators. What you are saying isn't that you care about democracy (you have proven that) you just need a dictator that is Pro US and if it isn't then that country doesn't have a legitimate government? Again INSTEAD OF WHAT SHADY! They have elections in Iran and reformers have won elections in Iran. The government can only be as good as the people make it.

I would love you to tell me how Mohammad Khatami ever won an election if it such a dictatorship. I will wait for you to cite some evidence of any of your claims. Shady get this the Iranian people right now don't like the US and are not going to vote someone in who does not matter how much name calling you do. That does not make their government less legitimate it just means you are going to claim that.

[Smallc]

So if Hagel had said Canada is a Democracy Shady would disagree as well?

Canada is both.

[punked]

Canada is both.

Smallc I know you understand my point. It isn't that Canada isn't free democratic country or that Iran is. Just that their are plenty of countries way less democratic then Iran and Shady's problem with them isn't democracy but the way their country feels toward the free world. Hagel is right Iran is democratic or at least for the region more democratic then most but they are not US friendly which Shady's problem.

[Shady]

Early concerns raised for Iranian election

Watch said an "obsessive" campaign in Iran against journalists and rights lawyers suggest the country has no interest in a free political system.

The European Union last year awarded Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film director Jafar Panahi the 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Sotoudeh was freed briefly but was returned to prison in late January. Panahi remains jailed.

Human Rights Watch said crackdowns like those show the government in Tehran is keen to silence critics.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/02/01/Early-concerns-raised-for-Iranian-election/UPI-38651359744448/

[Shady]

]In Iran, Supreme Leader Wields True Power[/b]

He is Iran's supreme leader, with all the power that the job title suggests. He controls everything from Iran's nuclear program to full authority over foreign policy.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100645236

[punked]

Nothing you have posted is any worse then Russia or many countries in the world. Would you say Russia is not a Democracy? Again they have elections in Iran and sometimes people that the Supreme Leader doesn't like win. Yep the elections aren't as free as say the US or Canada but they aren't as bad as many places which you and the US support. So why all of a sudden do you think they are not democratic but other countries which have less open elections are? You are a hypocrite.

[bud]

a good article on the sad senate hearing.

on hagel:

Chuck Hagel did not acquit himself well. He was sluggish, tongue-tied and practically meek in the face of constant badgering by Republicans. He's far from the most dynamic speaker, stammers constantly and appears to agonize over every word he utters. This gave GOP Senators every opportunity to constantly interrupt him with even more leading and obnoxious questions.

on the questions:

In defense of Hagel, though, it's hard to imagine a sadder display of senatorial prerogatives than what the country witnessed in Thursday's hearing. There were basically three categories of questions asked of Hagel:

• "Is Israel a great country, or is it the greatest? And if it's the former, can you explain your lack of support for America's most important ally?"
  
• "Why don't you think Iran is crazy, unbalanced and a military competitor of the United States, as I do?"
  
• "Let me tell you more about the vital national security rule played by the weapons system or military base located in my home state."
  

on israel:

according to a tweet from Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran that made the rounds yesterday evening, Israel was mentioned 136 times in the hearing and Iran 135 times.

you saw right. israel was mentioned 136 times. who do these senators work for? it's too bad hagel has been neutered, and wasn't his old self, otherwise:

The day reached its point of high comedy when Senator Lindsey Graham began interrogating Hagel on whether he believes – as he allegedly said several years ago – that the so-called "Jewish lobby" causes US senators to occasionally do dumb things that harm US foreign policy. Hagel hemmed and hawed on the question when, in an ideal world, he should have said, "Yes, and this hearing is example A."

Edited February 2, 2013 by bud

[punked]

I wonder if Republicans had won the 2008 election who would they have nominated for this position they think Hagel is so unqualified for? Man if only a quote existed from then Obama could figure who they want and nominate them. Oh yeah McCain did answer this question. His answer "Chuck Hagel".

[jbg]

Technically Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy and a Federal Parliamentary Democracy.

This way you and Shady are both right and can stop being children for a page or two.

You are right about the first sentence of your post. The less said the better on the rest.

[Shady]

I was hoping that Hagel would specify who in congress he thinks is intimidated by the so-called "Jewish lobby" (his words).

[Shady]

Unfortunately for Hagel, the exchange got worse from there. Hagel was pressed by Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina to cite some real-world examples of “intimidation” by the “Jewish lobby.” Hagel admitted he couldn’t think of any. Hagel had elsewhere referred to “dumb things” into which the United States had been pushed by the “Jewish lobby.” Could he be specific? No, again, he could not.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/02/02/david-frum-whos-afraid-of-the-israel-lobby/

He couldn't get specific on the dumb things part either.

[jbg]

I was hoping that Hagel would specify who in congress he thinks is intimidated by the so-called "Jewish lobby" (his words).

Hagel is a classic Jew-hater, just like the President who nominated him.

[Shady]

Looks like even Democrats recognized Hagel's pathetic preformance...

"The disconcerting thing, obviously, for anybody that watched it was he seemed unimpressive and unprepared on the questions that, quite frankly, he knew was coming,” Gibbs said

That's Robert Gibbs, one of Obama's closest advisors.

[punked]

Just thought I would post an AMA from a man running for President of Iran.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/180yye/i_am_running_for_president_of_iran_my_name_is_dr/

This is a quote from him

It is not dangerous to vote for me. In fact, no Iranian citizen has been penalized for simply voting for or supporting a legal candidate.

Hmmmmm.......

[Hudson Jones]

Here is a comedy sketch nailing it:

Edited February 22, 2013 by Hudson Jones

[Argus]

Hagel is a classic Jew-hater, just like the President who nominated him.

I'm sorry, but what? Perhaps you could define the term 'Jew hater' to me. Because it sounds like you equate it with "Anyone not 100% supportive of Israel and anything Israel wants, does or says".

Frankly, it seems to me like some of you people want a secretary of defense who will regard his primary mission as the defense of Israel, not the United States.

[Hudson Jones]

It is ironic that some of the Israel-firster senators are trying to chastise Hagel for saying that the Jewish (meaning Israel) lobby tries to intimidate politicians for not following the script and showing any criticism of Israel.

The pathetic display by these politicians and the numerous Israeli/Jewish lobbies in the United States is a reflection on the state of the American government.

Look, they're still trying. You can't make this stuff up:

Link

The Emergency Committee for Israel intends to redouble its efforts to bring to light Mr. Hagel's complete record for Senators to consider. Even today new reports have emerged of further anti-Israel statements by Mr. Hagel, including the slander (in a 2007 speech at Rutgers University) that the State Department was acting as an "adjunct" of the Israeli foreign ministry. The Emergency Committee for Israel will continue to work to convince a majority of senators of the undeniable truth that we can do much, much better than Mr. Hagel."

- William Kristol, ECI chairman

[Hudson Jones]

In an interview to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the former neoconservative diplomat criticizes Hagel for his “I am an American senator” remark.

Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea has today a short interview with Elliott Abrams on the issue of Chuck Hagel’s nomination to Secretary of Defense, which various Israeli advocacy groups have opposed.

Abrams opens by explaining why he believes Hagel is an anti-Semite, referring to Hagel’s past remark on “the Jewish Lobby” (by the way, this is the term Israelis use too, including most of the press. Examples: here, here, here, here, here, here).

Abrams: “I don’t hate him (Hagel). I don’t know him in person. I have friends who say they have known him for years and never heard an anti-Semitic remark from him. I think that everyone who rules out an initiative by Jews to influence American policy is an anti-Semite. That’s my definition.

“Hagel once said ‘I am not an Israeli senator, I am an American senator. My commitment is to the United States’. This wasn’t a gaffe.”

[…]

Barnea: You know that eventually he will be confirmed. The Senate usually doesn’t interfere with the president’s appointments.

Abrams: “Yes. I suppose he will be confirmed. But he will be a weaker secretary of defense. The fight against Hagel presents the Republican party as a very pro-Israeli party, which is a good thing. Second, it’s becoming clear to everyone that there is a strong pro-Israeli lobby that is relying mostly on Christians. This is not a Jewish lobby.”

Edited February 22, 2013 by Hudson Jones

[Argus]

Maybe it would be appropriate for all US cabinet positions to be approved by the Israeli Knesset...