Pres Obama Welcomes Hagel's Confirmation.

 “I’m a United States senator,” Hagel declared in 2008. “I’m not an Israeli senator.”

Pres Obama Welcomes Hagel's Confirmation.HT: IsraelMatzav.(INN).

President Barack Obama welcomed on Tuesday the confirmation of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, saying it allowed him to "have the defense secretary our nation needs and the leader our troops deserve.""I will be counting on Chuck's judgment and counsel as we end the war in Afghanistan, bring our troops home, stay ready to meet the threats of our time and keep our military the finest fighting force in the world," said Obama.

Chuck Hagel has been confirmed as Secretary of Defense 58-41 in a mostly party line vote. The previous record high for no votes on a confirmed Secretary of Defense was 11.
William Kristol of the Emergency Committee for Israel has issued the following statement. "We fought the good fight, and are proud to have done so. We salute all those -- Democrats and Republicans, Christians and Jews -- who joined with us in the effort to secure a better Secretary of Defense. We are heartened that the overwhelming majority of senators from one of the two major parties voted against confirming Mr. Hagel. We take some comfort in Mr. Hagel's confirmation conversions on the issues of Israel and Iran, and do believe that, as a result of this battle, Mr. Hagel will be less free to pursue dangerous policies at the Defense Department and less inclined to advocate them within the administration. And since hope is an American characteristic and a Jewish virtue, we will also say that we hope Mr. Hagel will rise to the occasion and successfully discharge his weighty duties. In this task we wish him well.
"This battle against Chuck Hagel is over. The fight for a principled, pro-Israel foreign policy goes on.
The campaign against Hagel's nomination failed precisely because no one -- none of the Jewish organizations that attacked him or his adversaries on the Senate Armed Services Committee -- had the moral courage to call Hagel what he is: a political anti-Semite. Lindsey Graham came closest, but was loath to pull the trigger."Hmmmm......It's a very sad day for Israel.Read the full story here.