Posted on 08/19/2005 9:57:27 AM PDT by Mike Bates
Republican Party foreign policy expert Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) is calling for the United States to open talks with Iran's new president and has dismissed President George W. Bush's talk of a military option against Tehran as an empty and foolish threat.
In an interview with Reuters during a trip across his home state on Wednesday, Hagel said the United States should greet the new Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a bold diplomatic stroke.
"You've got a new president, a new opportunity to do something bold here. Why not take that opportunity and do something bold? Iran is going to be a major influence in the future of Iraq. It already is. Who are we kidding when we think that they're not? They are.
"I would start engaging with American face-to-face dialogue. We're not at negotiations yet, but opening that dialogue. This is a process. This needs to work. Every side has to give something here," said Hagel, who is a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is seen as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2008.
In an interview with Israeli television last week, Bush said "all options are on the table" if the Iranians refuse to comply with international demands to halt their nuclear program, and noted that he has already used force to protect U.S. security.
EMPTY THREAT
Hagel's response to that implied threat was completely dismissive.
"Quite frankly, what is the military option, what are we talking about here? We lose credibility in the face of the world when we say things like, 'Well just don't forget what happened to Iraq could happen to you Iran. We could invade you, we could bomb you.'
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Chuck Hagel is an empty suit.
Hagel has always been an Ahole.
Hey Chuck, FOAD.
Hagel still has the (R) next to his name?
"This is a process"
Ah... Yes... One that will never end.
He's often described as a war hero, so that helped no doubt.
Hagel is really getting on my nerves.
He supported Cindy Sheehan too.
IMHO--Hagel should stuff it.
"Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) is calling for the United States to open talks with Iran's new president"
- You don't negotiate with terrorists, terrorist sympathizers, terrorist financers and terrorist instigators who have openly called for our destruction, death to all Jews and world Islamic domination.
Is this guy retarded?
What a fool. Nebraska should be ashamed, about as ashamed as we are of Lindsey Graham.
Like McCain, he is trying to appear "moderate" to prepare for the 2008 Presidential primaries. "Moderate" = sellout.
Hagel just got himself a spot on the talk shows for the weekend and endless favorable coverage from the MSM.
Heaven help us.
Yes we do. We negotiate with the Chinese - - there's a textile quota negotiation with the Chinese going on right now, in San Francisco. Yet the Chinese have threatened to nuke Taiwan (if nuking a country isn't "terrorism," what is?
Thank you. Couldn't have said it any better myself.
"Republican Party foreign policy expert Sen. Chuck Hagel"
Of course what makes him an "expert" to the MSM is that he's so snide and snotty to Bush when it comes to foreign policy.
If he's such an "expert" on foreign policy, what makes him think some "reaching-out" statement to the new extremist Iranian president is going to have any success when many such statements in the past, even when made to the former supposed moderate Khathemi or however you spell it were totally rebuffed? And what of the Europeans getting exactly nowhere with the Iranians, indeed their soft touch diplomacy only resulting in the Iranians declaring they'll resume reprocessing of uranium?
Frankly Chucky, your taking the military option off the table is what's foolish. Every option must be available to us in dealing with unreasonable people. And this cretin running Iran and his Mullah puppeteers are most assuredly unreasonable people. Hopefully it won't come to needing a military option, but we should not undermine ourselves and all steps leading up to using a military last resort response by telling these animals that it's off the table! If sanctions don't work, what then Chucky? Just live with the Al Qaeda and terrorism supporting Iranian mullahs having nukes?? No way.
And no, no one is talking about an invasion Chucky. We're talking surgical airstrikes to take out Iran's nukes if it comes to that. You clearly are not ready for prime time Chucky if you're willing to take that off the table and allow the Iranians to feel they've got clear sailing into becoming a nuclear power.
Uh... because Johnny Carson is dead?!?
:-)
Somebody tell Scotty to quit fooling with the warp drive - reality is getting messed up.
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