Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Calls Anti-Israel Hagel Criticism ‘Ridiculous’
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan - Jan 12, 2013
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright dismissed as “ridiculous” the accusations by Republican critics that President Barack Obama’s choice for defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, is anti-Israel.
“Senator Hagel has been somebody that has voted for help for Israel over the years, has made very clear his support for Israel, and has talked about the historic bond,” Albright said yesterday in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” airing this weekend. “I think that is just a charge that doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Hagel, a Republican former senator from Nebraska, has come under attack from Republicans, including Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, who serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee that will vote on the confirmation of Hagel to head the Pentagon. Hagel would be “the most antagonistic secretary of defense toward the state of Israel in our nation’s history,” Graham said on Jan. 6 on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Albright, who worked with Hagel when he was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and she was secretary of state and who serves with him now on Obama’s Defense Advisory Board, said she believes some detractors “just decided they weren’t going to like whomever” the president chose to lead the Pentagon.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-01-11/albright-calls-anti-israel-hagel-criticism-ridiculous-.html
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