Following the Chicken Hawks

Political pundits believe that the attention span and memory of voters is short.

That's seems of doubtful accuracy.

When the drums were beat to invade the Middle East and create the chaos which we have caused, those who spoke against it were vilified, called 'Unpatriotic,' marginalized. Faux News told you all about the Weapons of Mass Destruction [WMD] and Yellow Cake even as those reports was discredited in international media.

Not one of the 'NeoCons' beating the drums has ever served in the military, has ever been under fire or subjected to military combat. They're called 'Chicken Hawks.'

Check this out for a more complete list:

Chickenhawk Hall of Shame
...a chickenhawk: choosing to “support” war, while also choosing not to serve in the military. His motto becomes: “Let’s you and him go fight; I’ll hold your coat.”

Now that we've squandered our budget surplus fighting oil wars without reason and tax cuts for the wealthy, the NeoCons slink out of the woodwork to oppose Senator Hagel's nomination for Secretary of Defense.

There may be reasons to oppose Chuck Hagel, but when the NeoCons villify him, just maybe he's the right guy.

The Neocons vs. Chuck Hagel

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

If the neocons in the GOP who brought us the Iraqi war and conjured up “weapons of mass destruction” to justify it are against Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary, Hagel gets bonus points in my book.

They’re the hawkish, bellicose bunch in the Republican Party — William Kristol, Richard Perle, and Ellott Abrams — who shaped DIck Cheney’s and Don Rumsfeld’s disastrous foreign policy.

These are also the people who have supported Israel’s rightward lurch in recent years. They don’t want a two-state solution. They eschew any possibility of talks with Hamas or Iran. They favor building more settlements in the West Bank.

Yes, it was dumb for Hagel to use the term “Jewish lobby” instead of “Israel lobby,” but that alone shouldn’t disqualify him. Everyone in official Washington knows how much power is wielded in that city by the Sheldon Adelsons of American politics who think Israel can do no wrong.

The problem is Washington pays too little attention to the large number of Americans — Jewish and non-Jewish — who think Israel is doing a lot that’s wrong, and worry that the path it’s on threatens its long-term survival.

The real question is what Hagel believes about the appropriate use of American power.

That the neocons hate him is the best sign yet that Chuck Hagel may be the right person for the job.

http://robertreich.org/post/40610140843

When It Comes to War, Bush is an Inaction Figure