Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel says President Got Too Much Latitude on Foreign Policy

- Tilted Politics (https://thetfp.com/tfp/tilted-politics/)

- - Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel says President Got Too Much Latitude on Foreign Policy (https://thetfp.com/tfp/tilted-politics/32611-republican-sen-chuck-hagel-says-president-got-too-much-latitude-foreign-policy.html)

Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel says President Got Too Much Latitude on Foreign Policy

Chuck Hagel is a republican and a senior member of the powerful Foreign Relations committee.

In summary, Hagel is criticizing Bush for creating bad will from other nations towards the USA, and for going into Iraq without allies.

I completely agree with Hagel's points and I applaud him for having the guts to stand up to a president from his own party.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...nguage=printer

Quote:

Sen. Hagel Says Congress Deferred Too Much to Bush
Republican Says President Got Too Much Lattitude on Foreign Policy After Sept. 11

Associated Press
Tuesday, October 21, 2003; 11:56 AM

OMAHA, Neb. -- Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is strongly criticizing Congress, saying it gave President Bush too much latitude in conducting foreign policy following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Hagel, of Nebraska, voiced his disapproval Monday in a speech at the Gallup Organization World Conference in Omaha.

"When the security of this nation is threatened, Congress and the American people give the president great latitude," he said. "We probably have given this president more flexibility, more latitude, more range, unquestioned, than any president since Franklin Roosevelt -- probably too much. The Congress, in my opinion, really abrogated much of its responsibility."

Hagel, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voted last year to give the president the authority to attack Iraq but has frequently criticized Bush's execution of the war. He has been especially critical of the lack of allies and U.N. support.

Most people in other countries are too young to remember the good done by the United States in World War II and the Korean War, he said.

"The great reservoir of pro-American good will that has existed in the world since World War II . . . that reservoir is now down very low."

The Vietnam War veteran compared the United States' lack of international support in the Iraq war with what happened in Southeast Asia.

"The one great mistake that America made in those 58 years (since World War II) ... was we tried to do something alone. That was Vietnam," Hagel said.

Then why did he vote for Bush's plan? Oh well, he is allowed his opinion.

I really believe that if they had to do it over again, most of those who voted for the "Blank Check" to President Bush would not vote the same way. This is not to say that they would not have approved military action, it is just that they would prefer to not have given up their constitutional rights/obligations. It appears that many in congress as well as most Americans got caught up in the post 9/11 furvor and voted with their hearts rather than their heads. Hagel is a rather smart and patriotic individual, and he is rightly concerned that our foreign policy is being dominated by one man and his small cadre of advisors, with little influence from congress (i.e. the voice of the people) and little assistance from long time allies within the international community.

We have many resources with which to accomplish our goals. By acting unilaterally and with little imput from congress and the international community we limit our resources and potential sources for new and better ideas. IMO and apparently in Senator Hagel's, this is foolish.

I would say at this point his mouthing off after the fact is irrelevant. He is doing the same thing Clark is attempting to do - approve of something and then turn around and condemn the Presdient for doing what Congress told him to do. I don't see the logic of this.

Quote:

What nations have joined the U.S. effort in Iraq?
On Tuesday, March 18, the U.S. State Department released a list of 30 nations it describes as the "Coalition for the Immediate Disarmament of Iraq." These nations are:

Afghanistan
Albania
Australia
Azerbaijan
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Georgia
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Japan *
South Korea
Latvia
Lithuania
Macedonia
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
* Japan has agreed to participate in postwar rebuilding efforts

Thats from Zell Millers website, D-GA. He voted for the war, co-sponcered the resolution, and has supported it the whole time.

I completely agree with Zell Miller and I applaud him for having the guts to stand up to his own party.

no mention that in spain, and other "willing" nations, the popular support for the war is nearly non-existant.

Supporting a possible war resolution does not eliminate the moral authority to comment negatively on how that war is persued. Just becuase they put trust in someone, then had that trust betrayed does not mean they are incapable of intelligent dissent at this point. what a fallacy...