Moving on to North Korea's nuclear weapons production, Hagel said the United States should pay close attention to relationships with China, India and Russia.
"According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, in the last two years, over a dozen Middle East countries have announced intentions to establish nuclear power programs and build nuclear reactors," he said. "The world must build a new twenty-first century nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament framework."
26 June 2008: Baltimore Sun
By Katie Fretland
In a speech directed to the candidates for president today, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said the problems the country faces -- nuclear proliferation, terrorism, health issues, environmental degradation -- will require more than "glib 10 second answers and clever 30 second television ads."
Hagel called on Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to unite the country if elected.
"One of these candidates is going to have to bring this country together, make the Congress a partner, form a broad consensus to govern, and help lead the world," Hagel said. "If they so polarize and divide our country during the campaign, they will find it difficult to govern. The complexities of an interconnected world will require leadership and decisions from the new president the day he takes office. These realities won't wait until America might come back together."
Hagel drew attention recently when the Republican senator said he would consider being Obama's running mate. Hagel, a friend of McCain's and a fellow Vietnam veteran, has not endorsed either candidate. He is a staunch Bush critic and arguably the president's most prominent GOP critic of the Iraq war.
Today, syndicated columnist Robert Novak, calls Hagel an "Obamacan," or a Republican who has defected from the party to support the Democratic senator.
"The Obamacan syndrome is based on hostility to Bush and his administration and on revulsion over today's Republican party," he writes.
At the Brookings Institution, Hagel gave a lengthy speech (he admitted brevity is not any senator's strong point), touching on the issues of the national debt, trade, energy, poverty, North Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan. He skipped Latin America (he wanted to include three pages on it, but his speech was too long), so he talked about improving relationships with the countries of the Western hemisphere during the question and answer session.
In discussing Iraq and Afghanistan, Hagel pointed to the lack of relevant, long-term strategies for stability in both countries. The most dangerous national security threat is not Iraq, Hagel said, but the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"The success of our policies and efforts will depend not only on the extent of our power, the strength of our purpose and cohesion of regional alliances, but also by an appreciation of great power limits," he said.
America should strengthen its alliances and partnerships with the European Union, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Turkey, Hagel said.
Moving on to North Korea's nuclear weapons production, Hagel said the United States should pay close attention to relationships with China, India and Russia.
"According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, in the last two years, over a dozen Middle East countries have announced intentions to establish nuclear power programs and build nuclear reactors," he said. "The world must build a new twenty-first century nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament framework."
See the full text of the senator's speech here.
Go to Middle East Dossier Homepage
