Obama and Hagel and Brennan share a mutual hatred for Israel.

portlandon on January 7, 2013 at 12:32 PM

FIFY

They drink the koolaid and do as they are told.

I’ll tel you why Obama wants Hagel in as Dec. of Defense. When Obama dismantles the military budget he can say “see, a Republican was in charge.” It’s all about finger pointing.

Warner Todd Huston on January 7, 2013 at 12:48 PM

With our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the defense budget could use a little dismantling. Given that we have no real military rivals and our main enemies are non-state actors, there is no reason why we need to continue spending over $200 billion a year more on defense than the next nine countries COMBINED! This chart, from the International Institute of Strategic Studies, is a real eye-opener:
http://www.iiss.org/EasySiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=63588&type=full&servicetype=Inline&customSizeId=0

It appeals to Obama’s bipartisan spirit

The mockery has been swift and spot-on …

http://twitchy.com/2013/01/07/aching-sides-politico-says-hagel-pick-shows-obamas-bipartisan-spirit/

But inside the White House, the choice makes sense. It appeals to Obama’s bipartisan spirit — and the optics aren’t bad

Of course not! Why ever would the optics look bad with an anti-semitic, anti-gay, pro-Iran, pro-Hamas, and pro-Hezbollah pick for Secretary of Defence? /

For the same reason he kept Robert Gates on. So when everything goes to hell (as planned) he’s got a Republican to blame.

What Obama is telling world is he sides with Iran over Israel.

jp on January 7, 2013 at 12:35 PM

Obama thinks Israel needs to make concessions.