Hagel, the Lobby and the Limits of Power
The former Republican senator is guilty of a cardinal sin which has
cut short many promising careers in Washington.
By Muhammad Idrees Ahmad
December 31, 2012 "Al Jazeera"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33486.htm
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<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/31/chuck-hagel-big-problem-realist-iran>
Chuck Hagel's big problem: being a realist about American power and Iran
The former Nebraska senator faces fierce opposition to possible
nomination as defense secretary from Washington's militarists
Stephen Kinzer
guardian.co.uk, Monday 31 December 2012
What do Nebraska and Iran have in common? Not much - but enough to
cause big trouble for former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, whose
possible nomination to be secretary of defense is being challenged by
the powerful bomb-Iran-yesterday lobby.
Iran, in its former incarnation as Persia, created the world's first
empire, produced titanic figures like Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes, and
is one of the great fonts of world culture. Nebraska was home to
indigenous peoples for centuries. It became a state in 1867, and has
produced an important literary figure, Willa Cather, as well as an
investor said to be the world's second richest man, Warren Buffett.
Nebraska also, however, produced fighters long before Chuck Hagel
emerged. Crazy Horse, "Wild Bill" Cody, and General John Pershing
were born there.
A group called Nebraskans for Peace has spent years waging a campaign
against the US Strategic Command, which controls America's strategic
arsenal from a base in Omaha. The current headline on its website is,
"Don't Bomb Iran."
Here is the heart of the case against Senator Hagel's nomination.
Militarists in Washington, taking their cue from pro-Israel
lobbyists, are trying to derail the appointment because Hagel doubts
the wisdom of starting another war in the Middle East. Their evidence
is his assertion, made several years ago, that:
"A military strike against Iran, a military option, is not a viable,
feasible, responsible option."
Hagel is absolutely correct. Like many thoughtful Americans,
including some of our country's most seasoned diplomats, he is eager
to make a real effort to engage Iran. No American president has done
that since Jimmy Carter's presidency was immolated in the wake of the
hostage crisis - except for Ronald Reagan, who tried sending Iranian
leaders a cake and a Bible, to no avail.
Part of what has led Hagel to recommend a calm, reasoned, prudent
approach to Iran is his own worldview. He is among the few in
Washington who do not seem to have accepted the century-old principle
that in order to defend its interests, the United States must be
involved everywhere in the world, all the time.
Hagel is said to be "outside the mainstream" because he does not
believe American power can solve people's problems around the world.
That is, indeed, outside the mainstream. Everyone from Pentagon
deadenders to Human Rights Watch, for example, is trying to dissuade
President Obama from his commitment to remove all American troops
from Afghanistan by 2014. Hagel thinks it's a fine idea.
Another charge against Hagel is that he has described the defense
budget as "bloated". That this can be considered controversial is a
measure of how far from reality Washington has slipped. It is like
describing Washington's summer climate as "warm" or Congress as
"divided".
Hagel's biggest problem, though, is Iran.
He wants to see whether a deal between the United States and Iran is
possible. Such a deal is the nightmare scenario for Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and those around him. They foolishly
believe it would endanger Israeli security. In fact, it would do the
opposite: reduce the threat from Iran by bringing it into the Middle
East security system, rather than pushing it ever further into
isolation and anger.
Challenging orthodoxy is a death sentence in Washington. It may
result in the demise of Senator Hagel's prospects. But his
willingness to challenge dogma about Iran has deep roots in Nebraska.
Only one American has given his life for Iranian democracy. He was a
young idealist from Nebraska named Howard Baskerville. In 1907, fresh
out of Princeton, Baskerville went to Iran as a schoolteacher. He
found himself in the midst of a revolution against tyranny, and was
carried away with passion for the democratic cause.
Rejecting protests from the local American consul, he shaped a group
of his students into a military column. On 20 April 1909, he was
killed while leading them into battle.
Baskerville believed countries should be allowed to choose their own
paths, whether or not big powers agreed. So did another notable
Nebraskan, Senator George Norris, who voted against both United
States entry into first world war and American membership in the
League of Nations.
Norris told Americans that the push toward global engagement was the
project of "munition manufacturers, stockbrokers, and bond dealers";
and he warned that it "brings no prosperity to the great mass of
common and patriotic citizens".
Hagel is in the great American tradition of the prairie populist. He
has sought to speak a word or two of truth to power. Power is not
amused. That is why his nomination is in trouble before it has even
been announced.
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