APN Welcomes Hagel's Nomination for Secretary of Defense

Attacks on Senator Hagel for his record on Israel and the Middle East are disconnected from Hagel's actual record and his qualifications for the office of Secretary of Defense.

Courtesy: freebeacon.com

(WASHINGTON DC) - Americans for Peace Now welcomes President Obama's nomination of Senator Chuck Hagel to be America’s next Secretary of Defense and urges the Senate to confirm the nomination expeditiously.

APN reaffirms its earlier statement, which strongly rejects attacks on Senator Hagel's record on Israel and Middle East-related issues. We know Senator Hagel well from his time in office. In the Senate he was a thoughtful legislator with a deep commitment to U.S. national security and a keen understanding of the full gamut of complex foreign policy issues, including the vital importance of achieving durable Israeli-Palestinian peace. He is fully committed to Israel’s security and wellbeing.

Attacks on Senator Hagel for his record on Israel and the Middle East are disconnected from Hagel's actual record and his qualifications for the office of Secretary of Defense. These attacks appear to reflect, more than anything, a desire to impose a narrow ideological litmus test on senior U.S. officials - a litmus test that is in no way linked to their abilities to carry out the responsibilities of the office for which they are being considered or even to their own commitment to the vital interests of the United States. Such a litmus test serves the interests of neither the United States nor Israel.