President Obama began to unveil his second-term national security team on Friday, choosing John Kerry as the next Secretary of State. The Massachusetts Senator shares the President’s view of diminished American power and influence, which should only compound skepticism about the mooted selection of Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon….
In the Senate, Mr. Hagel steered more to foreign policy than defense issues, and on those he steered left. “Politically, who among us is going to stand up and defend Iran or Libya?” he told the Senate in June 2001. He proceeded to defend both, calling sanctions against the Tehran and Gadhafi regimes “an absolute charade,” “ill-considered” and “breaching the spirit of multilateralism so necessary to achieve success.” (Weekly Standard, Posted 26 Dec 12)
