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Thursday, August 18, 2005

So is ex-Marine Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) a traitor too?
Posted by Jill | 2:10 PM

Is Chuck Hagel's opposition to Captain Codpiece's Iraq policy "nothing more than forged documents", as Rush Limbaugh would say, and in fact did say about Cindy Sheehan's loss of her son (which he has now denied saying, even though the recording is out there for the whole world to hear)?

Is he an "America Hater", as the people posting hate comments at Crawford Update are referring to Cindy Sheehan?

Because he too thinks we have to get out of Iraq (DAMN! Why is it that every time I write "get out of Iraq", my 80-100 wpm fingers start typing "Vietnam" and I have to stop myself?):

Hagel, a Vietnam veteran, acknowledged the U.S. military presence was becoming harder and harder to justify. He believes Iraq faces a serious danger of civil war that would threaten Middle East stability, and said there is little Washington can do to avert this.

"We are seen as occupiers, we are targets. We have got to get out. I don't think we can sustain our current policy, nor do I think we should," he said at one stop.

UNCERTAINTY, NOT PANIC

In an interview, Hagel said uncertainties over Iraq and oil prices fed off and reinforced each other.

"The mood is one of a certain sense of unsteadiness," he said. "I have sensed that since September 11, 2001. Our people have still not found an equilibrium and when you get these shocks, like gasoline at $2.50 a gallon and projecting natural gas costs doubling and tripling from what they paid last year, that further shakes them."

"I don't think there's panic, I don't think there's cynicism. I think there's this steady unsure sense about where is this all leading -- the constant daily reports on Iraq, our people being killed there, the money being spent there," he added.

Nebraska has been a solid Republican state in presidential elections for decades. Republicans dominate state politics and hold most elective offices.

But Hagel said even some who had previously backed Bush strongly on Iraq now felt deep unease.

"The feeling that I get back here, looking in the eyes of real people, where I knew where they were two years ago or a year ago -- they've changed," he said. "These aren't people who ebb and flow on issues. These are rock solid, conservative Republicans who love their country, support the troops and support the president."

Hagel said Bush faced a growing credibility gap. "The expectations that the president and his administration presented to the American people 2 1/2 years ago is not what the reality is today. That's presented the biggest credibility gap problem he's got," he said.

"I hope he has some sense that something's going on out in the country, that there's a lack of confidence that has developed in our position."


Now, I'm not a big fan of Chuck Hagel. The fact that he won his seat with 86% of the vote when said vote was cast on voting machines made by ES&S, of which he was part owner at the time, certainly is grounds for some eyebrow-raising. And yet, on foreign policy issues, he's been showing a fair amount of credibility, and at the very least, a willingness to live in consensus reality, instead of on Planet Delusional, where the Commander-in-Chief currently resides.

Hagel has presidential aspirations, and he's no idiot -- he knows that Iraq could be a millstone around Republican necks in 2006 and beyond. So I'll give him props for being willing to see the reality of the mess in Iraq, instead of continuing to drink the kool-aid while more and more American kids die. I only wish he could convince some of the people threatening Cindy Sheehan that dissent is not unpatriotic.
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