Chuck Hagel and the winter of the neocons’ discontent
On one side are fierce Hagel critics such as McCain and Bill Kristol, Washington’s neocon-in-chief, who refuse to back down from their belief that the Iraq invasion of nearly a decade ago was just, and who continue to support the aggressive projection of U.S. military power abroad, especially in Syria. On the other side are Obama, Hagel, and others who warned—quite presciently—of the pitfalls of that policy, and who are running away from military intervention abroad at full speed, even as they ratchet up the “small footprint” use of drones.
And now the neocon hawks fear that, like Shakespeare’s Richard III, there will be no place for them at all in Obama’s “weak, piping time of peace.” It is truly the winter of their discontent.
Hagel’s most dogged enemies, particularly Kristol, used the nominee’s startlingly weak performance at last week’s confirmation hearing to attack him, yet again, as incompetent. “Has there ever been a more embarrassing confirmation hearing than Hagel’s for a major Cabinet position? For a minor Cabinet position? For a subcabinet position? We don’t know of one,” Kristol wrote in his neoconservative magazine, The Weekly Standard, this week. Kristol then attacked Obama and Democrats for being less than “profiles in courage” for supporting him: “Are liberals and Democrats willing to sell their souls for … Chuck Hagel?”
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Regardless of party/ideology, Hagel’s confirmation hearing was seen as a complete FAIL. He was shown to be the intellectual light weight many knew him to be.
portlandon on February 5, 2013 at 11:49 AM
It’s a neocon conspiracy to notice Hagel’s spectacular failures.
forest on February 5, 2013 at 11:58 AM
Too bad they aren’t going into hibernation, as aptly demonstrated by the obsessive/paid operative on the Ron Paul thread who thinks pedophilia is funny.
MelonCollie on February 5, 2013 at 12:17 PM
Fixed.
Ward Cleaver on February 5, 2013 at 12:19 PM
Crikey, 3 comments, and the Ron Paul bit is brought up.
Good Lord, there are loads of folks who think Hagel is a moron and shouldn’t be SecDef that aren’t “neocons”. Let it pass, folks. This is how they try to divide us.
GWB on February 5, 2013 at 12:20 PM
On a thread with the word Neocons in the title, oh Lord have mercy on us.
But I agree; Hagel is an utter moron and should be despised by all.
MelonCollie on February 5, 2013 at 12:24 PM
We are all neocons now.
thebrokenrattle on February 5, 2013 at 12:44 PM
There’s no better sign that someone shouldn’t be taken seriously than the use of the word “neo-con”.
clearbluesky on February 5, 2013 at 12:56 PM
Not me, my opinion of neocons are about the same as Obama, they are authoritarian statists building an un-American, unconstitutional police state here at home as well as abroad. They are enemies of freedom and liberty.
FloatingRock on February 5, 2013 at 1:03 PM
Hagel voted for the war in Iraq. He opposed serious attempts to win it. He wanted the world’s bully to be humiliated.
And the issue is not whether the war in Iraq was just but whether it was better to leave Saddam in power to continue his daily breach of the Ceasefire or better to remove him. The mistake was in trying to build a democracy in a Muslim country. Obama didn’t learn that lesson – assuming he’s not a closet Muslim who favors Islamist governments.
Basilsbest on February 5, 2013 at 1:07 PM
There’s no better sign that someone has the IQ of a houseplant than one word turning them off like a power switch to a robot. Be better than a robot.
This needs to be restated. Often. Hag-el is not only a liberal but a traitor.
This, this, this! For all of Saddam’s many faults, he kept the various bunches of fruits and nuts in his nation on a very short leash. The mightiest nation in the world can’t, to the point where Christians are arguably in more danger under the American occupation.
Folks, that’s downright embarrassing.
MelonCollie on February 5, 2013 at 1:19 PM
Hirsh always hates America and the Jews.
Schadenfreude on February 5, 2013 at 1:41 PM
There you go again.
thebrokenrattle on February 5, 2013 at 1:45 PM
Yeah, you’re right, better to be like you and ignore all the baggage that those who insist on using the word neo-con have attached to it and just ignore the simple fact that words have meaning, cuz that’s what the super smart people like you do.
clearbluesky on February 5, 2013 at 2:47 PM