Draft Hagel for Defense

The question isn’t whether Rumsfeld should be fired – it’s who replaces him.
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At this point, nearly everyone agrees that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should be fired (with the obvious exception of Vice President Dick Cheney, and hence, the President). Republican Senators like John McCain and Trent Lott have called for his dismissal. Nearly every Democrat in Congress believes he should be fired. Even neoconservatives like Bill Kristol have turned on him. But the question isn’t whether Rumsfeld should be fired – it’s who replaces him?

Whoever replaces the Secretary will hopefully lead the Iraqi operation in a new direction that it desperately needs. If someone just like Rumsfeld comes in place of Rumsfeld, nothing will have been accomplished.

I have a suggestion. It is a man who originally supported the war, who has been strong critic of how the Defense Department has handled the war, who is a conservative Republican and who has fresh ideas about the war. Senator Chuck Hagel.

Realistically, you know the President isn’t going to pick someone outside the Republican Party for this position, nor is he going to pick anyone who disagreed with the Iraq war in the first place. But he can pick someone who has been a rock-solid conservative and someone who at least has constructive ideas on the war.

This plan should have political appeal for everyone involved. Senator Hagel gets to take an important position in the administration and bolster his resume for his possible presidential run in 2008. The administration gets to quiet their strongest critic inside the Republican Party by bringing him into the fold. They also get to bring everyone inside the GOP together by showing a willingness to include dissenters and still stay strong.

If Senator Hagel were selected to be the new Defense Secretary, the Republicans looking to criticize the way the administration has handled the war would be silenced. Plus, the administration could reasonably ask Democrats and disgruntled voters, “What more could you want? We brought the strongest voice against the handling of the war to lead the war?” And they would be right.

They would lose none of their base, and bolster their support among moderate Republicans and independents disenchanted with the war.

I have been an opponent of this administration for the last four years, so why would I suggest something that helps them politically? Because I care about the country.

I think Senator Hagel is right. We have botched the war on every level. And although I disagree with Senator Hagel's initial vote for the war, I agree that there were better ways to conduct this operation throughout. Hagel has consistently suggested what those ways were. He has been a far stronger voice of constructive criticism on the war than any of the Democratic Senators.

In fact, if I had to vote for a Senator for President right now, I’d vote for Chuck Hagel. Earlier in the Iraq conflict he said we needed far more troops when Democrats were afraid to speak up. And now when that point has passed, he is not afraid to admit it and chart a new course. Just this weekend, he said the time might have come for us to find an effective way of pulling out of Iraq – when almost none of the Democratic Senators have still mustered up the courage to state this obvious fact.

Democrat Russ Feingold was the first Senator to call for a timetable to leave Iraq this week. Senator Kennedy mentioned the need for withdrawal earlier. But prominent Democratic Senators like Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid are still talking about how withdrawal timetables would encourage the insurgency. That’s neither sensible nor brave.

The people involved in the insurgency don’t need encouragement to stay and continue to fight. They already live there. If we tell them we have no plans to ever withdraw, most reasonable people would think that encourages the insurgency more than anything else we can do. I don’t think Senators Biden, Clinton and Reid are unreasonable. I do think they lack the courage to state what is true. Senator Hagel does not.

I have heard Democratic criticism of Senator Hagel that he “likes to talk the talk, but he never walks the walk.” This refers to his proclivity to criticize the administration but then consistently vote with them anyway. Well, this would be his opportunity to do a lot of walking.

Of course, the natural impediment to this idea is the people who have been the least reasonable, and I would argue least courageous, throughout -- the Bush administration. They never have the courage or sense to admit a mistake. The Iraq War has been a complete disaster. Could you imagine if I told you two and a half years ago that right now the United States of America would be losing a war in Iraq? No one would have believed that. Impossible.

Well, credit where credit is due – the Bush administration has pulled off the impossible. We are losing in Iraq. Anyone who doesn’t see the strength of the insurgency and recognize that it is not within our goals or interests to stay and fight until the insurgency is completely finished is living in a fairy tale. Or they are too scared to say what is clearly true.

Don Rumsfeld says this insurgency might last another twelve years. Which reasonable American wants to stay in Iraq with over 100,000 troops for another twelve years? It’s not going to happen. We are going to leave Iraq before the insurgency is completely defeated. As ugly as that fact is, we have to start getting used to it.

The one person inside Congress and inside the Republican Party who already has accepted the reality on the ground is Chuck Hagel. It’s time to put him in charge, so we can have some hope that we might be able to end this occupation with any degree of dignity and success.

Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, if you care about this country, our troops and our national interests, it’s time to come together and -- Draft Hagel for Defense.

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