Jonas Alexis: Chuck Hagel and the Neoconservative Fifth Column!

When it was announced that former Republican senator from Nebraska Chuck Hagel was considered as a candidate for Secretary of Defense, neoconservative luminary Bill Kristal of the WeeklyStandard
was on the run to oust him. The Wall Street Journal, Jonathan S Tobin and Alana Goodman of Commentary, Nathaniel Botwinick of National Review, and an editorial in the Washington Post were doing almost the same thing. A swell of neo con apologists for Israel, such as Senator Lindsey Graham and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, went on CNN and NBC respectively denouncing Hagel. Senior analysts for Fox News Brit Hume did the same thing. The Republican Jewish Coalition called Hagel's nomination "a slap in the face for every American who is concerned about the safety of Israel." The Israel's Project president and CEO Josh Block, had done his best to spread the gospel that Hagel's nomination must be rejected. AIPAC had done the same thing. A panel of neoconservative propagandists for Commentary began to denounce Hagel. The neoconservative troops went on TV, denouncing Hagel at every opportunity. The legendary Alan Dershowitz declared that Hagel's nomination is "a policy mistake," and he would be more than welcome to testify against Hagel. Joseph Klein of neo con Front Page Magazine wrote an article entitled, "The Anti War/Anti Semitic Defense Chief." Jonah Goldberg of the National Review and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) denounced Hagel's nomination as "a petty pick." Eliot Cohen of John Hopkins University agreed. Danielle Pletka of the AEI said she doesn't know whether Hagel is an anti Semite or not, but she agreed with people who have called Hagel an anti Semite. Speaking of Hagel, Jewish journalist Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post declared, "Old soldiers don't make for good Pentagon chiefs." Why this madness against Hagel? He has said some damning things about the Israeli Lobby. Hagel is a Vietnam veteran champion who was wounded twice in battle. He supported Reagan, and was even named deputy administration of the Veterans Administration during Reagan. Not only that, Hagel is a champion of conservative ideas "with a voting record of 84 percent by the American Conservative Union."