Nebraska's Chuck Hagel and Harry Reid, Democrat and the Voting for Secretary of Defense

Nadene Goldfoot
The senators who will be voting might relent after they return to Washington.  The vote will probably nominate Chuck Hagel.  Only 15 Republican Senators are asking Obama to withdraw his name from nomination.  Their concerns center around the Benghazi, Libya fiasco in which 4 Americans were killed; one being the US ambassador. Another accusation is that he has been too lenient on Iran.  Miracles are in short supply.  A few such as Senator Ted Cruz still oppose the confirmation as Secretary of Defense.  With all the negatives abounding, how is it possible for a man so unsuitable for this job to even be nominated?

In today's Oregonian, the PolitiFact section's headline is "No sign of Iran celebrating Hagel defense nomination."  I suppose this is to show the public that if Iran isn't celebrating his nomination, that this means they fear him and he will be tough on them.  Wrong.  They're smart enough to know this.  People should realize that their newspapers are government owned and will reflect the will of this mentally unstable government.

If anyone believes that Iran's zeal to develop uranium is for medical purposes only will believe in flying carpets, too.  Iran has threatened Israel so much and has called them so many outlandish names that you know they are serious.  Just look at their charters.  On page A7 of today's paper, a teeny item titled Iran Nuclear, says that  UN inspectors recently found 200 advanced machines fully or partially installed at their main uranium enrichment site.  This confirms the accounts that Tehran has begun a major upgrade to be used for making atomic arms.  You see, they are getting around this action because international law allows using it for scientific and medical purposes.  But knowing the government, you know what their real goal is.

Chuck Hagel will be in charge of  defense of the USA and will be affecting the defense of Israel.  As a Republican Senator from Nebraska, his attitudes do not reflect the present Republican views.  John McCain surprises me in backing down so quickly.  Chuck is reflecting far more of the Democrats, and I am sadder to think that anyone  would take his positions.  Just look at a few of the attitudes he reflects.

1. Hagel commented  that Israel is responsible for violating virtually every United Nations resolutions since 1967.  This is factually inaccurate.
 2. Hagel’s advocacy of negotiations with the terrorist organization Hamas, it is morally obtuse.
3. He tried to close the USO's Haifa retreat from 1987-1990, a place popular with US sailors.  45,000 had visited this port (so much like Portland) in 1990.  His comment was, "Let the Jews pay for it!."
4. Only Hagel abandoned Russia's Jews.  He wouldn't give support in 1999 urging Boris Yeltsin to take action against anti-Semitism.  Only he wouldn't sign a letter all other senators signed.
5. Refused to sign a Senate letter supporting Israel during Yasser Arafat's terrorist Intifada in 2000.  He was one of 4 that refused to sign.  96 Senators signed.
6.  He said that the State Department is the adjunct to Israel's foreign minister's office.  That is surely a nasty statement.  He's saying they are attached!  Never mind that they may be sharing the same values.  Because they might be in agreement with many things that he isn't, he has become most nasty and really-this shows his true colors about Israel.
7. Saying nasty comments about AIPAC.  such as, "The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here on Capitol Hill."  He said this to Aaron David Miller in 2008 and was printed in the New York  Post. This is another anti-Semitic comment.  It's inferring that Jews have such power as to intimate people.  Nonsense.  Again, we do have shared values.  AIPAC people are Americans.
8.  Commenting that because someone is Jewish,  he is getting good reviews.  A secretary of defense shouldn't be on the religious affiliation of an American who participates in foreign policy debates.  I would hope that in this country you would have to be a good debater to win a debate and not just because you're Jewish.  Do I detect a little jealousy here?
9 I'M A UNITED STATES  SENATOR.  I'M NOT AN ISRAELI SENATOR." This statement of Hagel's reflects a chip on the shoulder and an attitude.  In other words, we could not possibly be on the same side.  He has also strongly implied that some of the other senators have more loyalty to Israel than to the USA.
10.    Prominent Jewish Nebraskans get the cold shoulder from Hagel. He didn't return any of their phone calls, said Gary Javitch.  He had always had callbacks before, even as a turn-down but Hagel wasn't running again so in his last year in office could afford to ignore certain people.  Carol Katzman, former editor of the Omaha Jewish Press found him most unresponsive to work with.  His office wouldn't respond.  He and his office were dismissive.  He's been the only one in Nebraska that has treated the Jewish community in this manner and they feel that he doesn't give a damn about any of their concerns or of them.   Since they are Jewish, he snubs them.

Each of our 50 states gets only 2 Senators. Today the Republicans have 45 seats while the Democrats have 53 with the leader seat being from Nebraska, Harry Reid.  51 votes are needed to pass a vote.

 Nebraskan Jews have a right to be heard just like the other Nebraskans.  Nebraska is smaller than Oregon in population.  As of July 1, 2012, they had only 1,855,525 people.  Oregon had 3,899,353.  Nebraska is the 37th out of 50 in size while Oregon was the 27th in size. There are from 6,100 to 7,200 Jews who live in Nebraska.  The population has been declining by 10% in the last 3 decades.  Most live in Omaha which has 4 synagogues, a Jewish community center and a mikveh.  Lincoln, Nebraska has 2 synagogues.  Most likely they are not the wheat growers but the merchants.  Jews in Nebraska make up only 0.3% of the population; not enough to bother with, evidently for Hagel.  Jews in Oregon make up a whopping 1.1.% of the population.

Now, if this is how he has treated Jews in his own state, besides all the attitudes and deeds he has already displayed about Jews and Israel, we have a good idea of what to expect from this Secretary of Defense.  Our antennae are more sensitive to these things than other people's.  We've experienced it through the ages.
The 100  senators have other axes to grind with this man.  How is it that they might give up so easily in placing this man in our government's cabinet without a fight?  Why is Obama being so adamant and why did he ever pick him in the first place?  Aren't people vetted before they get on his list?

Resource: Oregonian Newspaper 2/22/13 page A2, and A7.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0213/murdock.php3#.USex8B2OTqE Chuck Hagel's Greatest Hits by Deroy Murdock
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/21/republican-senators-call-on-obama-to-withdraw-hagel-nomination/
http://spectator.org/blog/2013/02/21/why-hagels-position-on-israel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14643.html Nebraska
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/usjewpop.html Oregon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2012
http://www.reid.senate.gov/

Two Picks by Obama Delayed: Hagel and Brennan

Nadene Goldfoot
Hagel's nomination for Secretary of Defense has been held up for reasons other than his attitude towards Israel.  Everyone has a complaint about him.    One forgets he's a Republican, as only the Democrats are in favor of him. Republicans have challenged Hagel's past statements and votes on Israel, Iran, Iraq and nuclear weapons. .  The Republicans do want more information on September 11th's attack on Benghazi and what Obama was doing about it.

So is John Brennan nomination being held up for Director of the CIA.  "Four years ago Brennan wound up becoming White House counter-terror advisor–a White House staff position that likely has more policy influence than that of CIA director, and one not subject to congressional oversight when he had been passed over because of progressives' complaints about torture and detention practices. He'll probably get the nomination at the end of this month.

Senate Majority Leader  Democrat  Harry Reid filed for cloture on the nomination of Hagel late Wednesday afternoon but Republicans need more disclosure.  That afternoon in the Senate, Senator Jim Inhofe, Republican from Oklahoma, again called on Hagel to comply with GOP disclosure requests and specifically mentioned a 2008 speech to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).  They want to see the full text and details of several speeches Hagel failed to report to the Senate Armed Services Committee that have since been uncovered.

What is he hiding?  The ADC also has not disclosed the full video of the 2008 speech, while refusing to release its records as required by federal law.  The ADC vice President Nabil Mohamad told a reporter from Free Beacon that the video was in an "archive" in Maryland and not available.  He also declined to provide the group's 990.  The 990 lists financial and donor information and which nonprofits must present upon  in-person request.   After that, ADC has refused to even let the reporter into their office.  A second reporter telephoned the ADC to tell them of the legal requirement and was accused of racism and bigotry, of making threats against the organization, and was told that the "authorities" had been informed of his request.  So good luck, Senators.

Resource: Free Beacon, Alana Goodman, February 2013: "Arab-American Group won't Release Hagel Tape" ; from Pamela Geller
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2013/01/john-brennan-for-cia-chief-headache-for.html
Also in Jewishfacts;
Why Hagel's finanaces are a concern
Hagel discussed by 2 Senators, Democrat and Republican
http://swampland.time.com/2013/02/15/its-not-just-hagel-brennan-delayed-too/

Morsi Praying For Jewish Destruction: Follows Muslim Brotherhood Charter: Kidnapping Westerners Urged

Nadene Goldfoot

Kill the Jews and kidnap Westerners.  That's the message that the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaida are now urging.  

We shouldn't be surprised at Morsi fervently praying and adding his Arabic "amen" with this group prayer for the destruction of all Jews.  After all, he was the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood whose charter calls for this.  Doesn't anyone pay attention?  At least Mubarak had Morsi jailed for his extremism in theology that called for killing and destruction of Jews.

This fact is verified by being viewed  on video on the Egyptian state TV with Morsi in a mosque in Marsa Matruh, Egypt on Friday, October 19th.  "Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters.  Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them asunder."  Rend, in the dictionary means "to remove from place by violence,  to tear, like hair and clothing as a sign of anger, grief, or despair, to lacerate with painful feelings, to pierce with sound, to divide as a nation into parties, to perform an act of tearing or splitting, to become torn or split."  Asunder means "torn into parts,.  Such a prayer for somebody who is the reason for receiving large amounts of money from the USA.  Notice the prayer goes for the supporters as well, which means the USA.

Al-Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood are a union.  Al-Qaida is now urging its people to kidnap Westerners to exchange for imprisoned jihadists.  There is a blind cleric serving a life sentence in the USA for a 1993 plot to blow up NY city's landmarks.

There is a long 2 hour videotape that was posted last week on militant forums.  Ayman al-Zawahri, Egyptian jihadist, urged support for Syria's uprising.  He also called for the implementation of Islamic law in Egypt.  Egypt had been secular, but now with Morsi, it could happen.  I remember living in Israel from 19880-85 and watching Egyptian TV movies.  I really enjoyed them with their English subtitles.  I imagine all that will change with Morsi in charge.

Zawahri went on to encourage abducting nationals of "countries waging wars on Muslims" is the only way to free "our captives, and Sheik Omar Abdel- Rahman," the Egyptian cleric.  There it is.  We are at war with Muslims according to a high ranking Muslim.  According to him, this is the only language we understand.  "We will keep on seizing more....until we free our captives"

Two weeks ago he urged on an audio recording, holy war over that crazy horribly-made video making fun of Mohammad.  He also released a video on 9/11/ claiming that his warriors "defeated America in Iraq."

I guess they have a shortage of leaders and lots of followers, since they keep calling for the freeing of Abdel-Rahman.  A group even named themselves for him.  They claim responsibility for a June attack on the US consulate in Benghazi which caused no casualties.  Of course we all know that later on 9/11 of this year we had 4 Americans killed there which included our Ambassador Chris Stevens.

In Cairo, Egypt, Abdel-Rahman's relatives have had sit-ins next to the US Embassy for months.  Mohammed Morsi, who himself was recently released from prison just long enough to become the president of Egypt, vowed to push for his release.  He's doing it.

What's the difference between the Muslim Brotherhood that Obama embraced as moderates and al-Qaeda?  Not much.  The Brotherhood's main goal has been to develop Muslim infrastructure everywhere and supports terror and jihad. Their charter calls for the murder of all Jews.   They have a charter that spells it out and have been becoming increasingly violent.  The Brotherhood has managed the pretense of moderation, but as early as 2007 let it be known they were not for Western values.  They are all for Sharia law.  Al Qaeda is all for jihad.  They support attacking, kidnapping, you name it.

Next time America clamors for other countries to go Democratic, I hope they look at what the alternatives in that county could be.  There's got to be a better way.  I think we all have gone from the frying pan into the fire.

Resource: http://www.standwithus.com/app/inews/view_n.asp?ID=1757 Muslim Brotherhood Charter
 Newsmax.com newsmax@reply.newsmax.com
Oregonian newspaper October 28, 2012, Sunday, page A14, Al-Qaida leader urges kidnappings by AP.
http://jcpa.org/the-muslim-brotherhood-a-moderate-islamic-alternative-to-al-qaeda-or-a-partner-in-global-jihad/