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Hagel on defense during confirmation hearing grilling - CBS News

Posted: 31 Jan 2013 09:06 AM PST

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Hagel defends his record

Updated: 12:00 p.m. ET

Amid stubborn resistance from Senate Republicans, former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., launched a strong defense of both his values and his record during his defense secretary confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, arguing that despite some controversial former positions on Israel, Iran, and gay rights, "no one individual vote, no one individual quote, no one individual statement defines me, my beliefs, or my record."

Hagel, who must gain the support of a majority of the 26 members of the committee in order to face a full Senate confirmation vote, pledged his commitment President Obama's positions on "all issues of national security, specifically decisions that the Department of Defense is in the process of implementing now."

"Our nation's security is the highest priority of our leaders and our government," Hagel said in his opening remarks. "We cannot allow the work of confronting the great threats we face today to be held hostage to partisanship on either side of the aisle."

Hagel's nomination has been controversial from the get-go: Of particular concern to Republicans and many Democrats is his past opposition of some sanctions for Iran; for his having taken stances on Hezbollah and Hamas that critics have decried as overly lenient; and for criticism of what he called "the Jewish lobby," which invoked the ire of pro-Israel advocates. Additionally, Hagel came out as a vocal critic of former President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq.

Democrats, meanwhile, have had their own, added gripes with the pick: In addition to being a Republican, Hagel was targeted for making anti-gay comments about an ambassadorial nominee in 1998, whose nomination he opposed for being "openly, aggressively gay." He also voted on multiple occasions to limit abortion access for American servicewomen abroad.

Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding his record, Hagel today expressed pride in it -- not because, he said, "of any accomplishments I may have achieved, or certainly because of an absence of mistakes, but rather because I've tried to build that record based on living my life and fulfilling my responsibilities as honestly as I knew how and with hard work."

"My overall worldview has never changed: That America has and must maintain the strongest military in the world; that we must lead the international community to confront threats and challenges together; and that we must use all tools of American power to protect our citizens and our interests," he said.

Republicans were less charitable in their characterization of Hagel's record.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, called it "deeply troubling and out of the mainstream." Of Hagel's worldview, Inhofe said it was "predicated on appeasing our adversaries while shunning our friends."

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Hagel, McCain tussle over Iraq surge

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a onetime friend of Hagel's who has not committed to vote for him, went after the former senator for his past opposition to the surge in Iraq, and asked him repeatedly whether or not his past assessment was a mistake.

"I'm not going to give you a yes or no answer," Hagel said, when pressed over whether he still believes the surge was, as McCain quoted him having once said, "the greatest foreign policy blunder since the Vietnam War." He said he thought the issue was more complicated than could be expressed in a one-word answer, and later explained his reasons for opposing the surge. He said he still wasn't sure whether or not it was necessary.

"I always ask the question is this going to be worth the sacrifice? Because there will be sacrifice," Hagel said.

McCain, in contrast, essentially argued that the surge has been proven categorically and historically effective.

"I think history has already made a judgment about the surge and you're on the wrong side of it," McCain argued.

Even the committee's chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he and his colleagues would be interested in hearing Hagel's explanation of "troubling statements" he has made on a handful of foreign policy issues.

"There's much to be explored at this hearing," Levin said.

But Levin also signaled hedged support for Hagel's nomination, on the grounds that Mr. Obama "needs to have a Secretary of Defense in whom he has trust, who will give him unvarnished advice, a person of integrity and one who has a personal understanding of the consequences of decisions relative to the use of military force."

Hagel's confirmation is not a sure bet, but the numbers, for the time being, are on his side. Most Democratic senators appear to have ironed out their issues with the candidate in private, one-on-one meetings, and barring a congressional hold or a filibuster, he can squeak through the confirmation process without the support of his fellow Republicans.

Still, Hagel has virtually no margin of error in his path to confirmation: While no Democrats are promising to vote against him, a number have not pledged to vote in his favor, either. And so far, only one Republican, Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, has said he will vote in favor of the president's pick, according to MSNBC.

In his opening remarks today, Hagel attempted to alleviate concerns about his controversial past statements, strongly emphasizing his commitment to preventing a nuclear Iran, and promising to stay supportive of "our friend and ally Israel."

"I am fully committed to the president's goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and - as I've said in the past - all options must be on the table to achieve that goal," he said. "My policy is one of prevention, and not one of containment - and the President has made clear that is the policy of our government. As Secretary of Defense, I will make sure the Department is prepared for any contingency."

Child believed unharmed as Ala. hostage ordeal drags on - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 31 Jan 2013 09:27 AM PST

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. - A hostage standoff continued into the third day Thursday in rural Alabama where a man who kidnapped a 5-year-old boy from a school bus after killing the driver kept the child hostage in an underground bunker at his home, which was surrounded by police and SWAT teams.

Asked how long the standoff would last, Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson told reporters early Thursday, "We have no way of knowing that right now."

Dale County authorities said the child appeared to be on good condition, despite the ordeal.

"We have no reason to believe that the child has been harmed," Olson said.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who met with authorities and visited the boy's family, said that the bunker had food and electricity, and that the boy was watching TV.

Authorities communicated with the suspect through a PVC pipe connected to the bunker, WSFA-TV reported, and were also able to pass some unidentified medicine for the boy.

Local residents attended vigils at several churches Wednesday night, lighting candles and praying for the boy's safe release, according to WSFA-TV.

A law enforcement official who is not authorized to speak to the media identified the man as Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, a retired truck driver and Navy veteran.

"As far as we know there is no relation at all (between Dykes and the hostage). He just wanted a child for a hostage situation," said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort traumatized children after the attack.

Sheriff's deputies had arrested Dykes on Dec. 22 and charged him with menacing for a Dec. 10 complaint, court records show. He spent four days in jail before posting the $500 bail.

His trial was to have begun Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Instead, he is accused of grabbing a 5-year-old boy off a school bus Tuesday afternoon after killing the 66-year-old bus driver, Charles Poland, who had tried to block access to the vehicle.

Patricia Smith, a neighbor whose two children were on the bus, said the gunman shot Poland four times and fled with the 5-year-old. The suspect then took the boy to a homemade bunker that he had apparently been constructing for years on his nearby property.

Authorities said Dykes lives in a small trailer at the end of a red dirt road, but they gave few details about the hostage standoff or whether Dykes had made any demands.

The Dale County Sheriff's Office reports Dykes is connected to the anti-government survivalist movement.

In an interview Wednesday with The Dothan Eagle, the bus driver's wife, wife, Jan Poland, recalled their ritual of sitting in their enclosed porch after he returned from driving, having coffee and watching the sun set or listening to the rain.

She said their favorite Bible verse was 2 Timothy 1:12, which she recited with their daughter, Lydia:

"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

"That is what I hold onto right now." she said, clutching her daughter's hand. "God knows. He is the one who is going to have to bring closure to my heart."

Terry Howard, the interim pastor at First Assembly of God in Newton, Ala., described Poland as "a good guy" who "loved to help people."

Protecting the children "would be in his nature," he said, noting that Poland's wife is a substitute teacher.

Authorities communicated with the suspect through a PVC pipe connected to the bunker, WSFA-TV reported, and were also able to pass some unidentified medicine for the boy.

Neighbors said Dykes had lived for about a year at the residence in Midland City, population 2,300. Before that he spent time in Texas and in Panama City, Fla., The Dothan Eagle reported.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show he was arrested in Panama City in February 1995 and charged with improper exhibition of dangerous weapons or firearms, a misdemeanor. The charge was dismissed four months later.

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch, which tracks radical hate groups, said Tim Byrd, chief investigator with the Dale County Sheriff's Office, described Dykes as having "anti-America" views and ties with the anti-government "survivalist" movement.

"His friends and his neighbors stated that he did not trust the government, that he was a Vietnam vet, and that he had PTSD," Byrd said, according to Hatewatch. "He was standoffish, didn't socialize or have any contact with anybody. He was a survivalist type."

Michael Creel, who lives nearby, told The Eagle that Dykes' bunker, similar to those used against tornadoes, was 4 feet wide, 6 feet long and about 8 feet deep, covered in sand.

Neighbor Mike Smith said Dykes once threatened to shoot his children when the family's dogs entered his property.

Neighbor Ronda Wilbur said Dykes was known to go out in the middle of the night to shoot birds and rabbits. She said Dykes had cut down nearly all the trees on his lot, erected a wire fence and "would go berserk" if a dog strayed onto his land.

She said her dog died of injuries after Dykes beat it with a lead pipe.

Scott Johnson reports for the Montgomery Advertiser. Contributing: The Associated Press

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Khamis, 31 Januari 2013