There's an immense amount of focus and time and review that goes into these operations, so, I don't think it's a matter of going back and having a review of our process. Our process is about as thorough as there can be.

Chuck Hagel

Categorized in : Top News

The Israeli people must be free to live in peace and security. by Chuck Hagel

The Israeli people must be free to live in peace and security.

peace-and-security israeli people

Assad must go. He's lost the legitimacy to govern. by Chuck Hagel

Assad must go. He's lost the legitimacy to govern.

assad legitimacy lost

Foreign policy is all about a universe of bad decisions, imperfect decisions; every situation is different. The dynamics, the atmospherics, the people, the pressures, the geopolitical realities shift.

decision reality people

I don't think it's a matter of going back and having a review of our process. Our process is about as thorough as there can be. Is it imperfect? Yes. Is there risk? Yes, but we start with the fact that we have an American that's being held hostage and that American's life is in danger and that's where we start. And then we proceed from there.

risk life thinking

This is a complicated time to govern in the world today because of so much going on and it's coming at us at such an unprecedented rate.

complicated today world

All I can do is present what I think is in the best interest of this country and how I can best serve this country and the president of the United States. And I feel very good about that opportunity I've had.

opportunity country thinking

It is very clear that planning for climate change is not some frivolous waste of time or waste of money, it is essential to our troops and to their wellbeing and to the national security of our country.

The North Koreans have not signed any document working out, laying out, what steps they are going to take to denuclearize, there has been nothing stated, agreed to, framed signed, except what President Trump says they've said... but now... we have a whole different story, and it is the reality, it is not fantasy.

World War I was a horrific, terrible war that affected really everybody -- certainly affected us, and not to make a little bit of an effort to get to a very important ceremony was wrong. And I'm disappointed and I'm sorry that he didn't do it.

To me, it's a recognition that when a country has men and women at war who are dying -- like we do have people dying, still, in Afghanistan -- and not recognize that by going and by looking and asking questions and being part of that personally, rather than just getting reports in the morning or in the afternoon, that's a misstep, but I think it's bigger than just a misstep. I think it's a failure of an obligation -- of a basic obligation of a commander in chief. He's commander in chief of our forces and not to go to a war zone where we have men and women dying, that's just wrong.

And he let down, I think, our veterans, he let down our country. And I think he sent a very wrong message to the world.

This is folly. This is political distraction of the highest magni... by Chuck Hagel

This is folly. This is political distraction of the highest magnitude.

I would not have said it the way John( Brennan) said it. John can say it the way he wants to say it. But as to impeachment, we'll see how this plays out. That's a congressional responsibility and the Congress must do what they think is in the best interest of this country.

This was not a golf outing. This was not a real estate transactional kind of arrangement. ... Engagement must be connected to a strategic interest, a strategic purpose. I don't know what that strategic purpose was. I am now convinced we didn't have one.

At a time when everything is hair-triggered, everything is nitroglycerin, and miscalculations can lead to a lot of trouble, we need veterans’ input.

The Israeli air force is really interested. It really came down to an internal budget related issues.

The base commander has been relieved. It is now in the purview of appropriate authorities, so I won't have anything to say specifically about that, but the commander has been relieved.

This was a mutual decision based on the discussions that we had, i don't think there's ever one overriding or defining decision in situations like this, unless there's some obvious issue, and there wasn't, between either one of us.

It's not one defining issue for me. ... But it's a combination of things, as you think through these things, and the president and I talked about it, so I'm very comfortable with my position and my decision. I think the president feels good about it. I feel good about it.

If anybody would have told Sergeant Hagel walking off that plane with my duffel bag where I'd be 46 years down the road, that would have been pretty hard for me to believe it, i mean, the privileges I've had have just been tremendous.