“It is looking more and more certain that former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel is going to be the next American Secretary of Defense. President Obama has officially announced his intention to nominate Mr. Hagel. Considering precedent, whereby very few nominated cabinet members who were formerly members of the Senate had been rejected by that body, there is little reason to believe that the Hagel nomination will not pass muster.

Ever since word got out that the president was intending to appoint Hagel, a lot of newspaper and online space, together with TV airtime, have been devoted to critiques of him, particularly regarding his views on Israel and Iran-related matters.

Now that it looks as if his appointment is going forward, it is reasonable to consider what the consequences for Israel may be with a Pentagon led by Hagel.

First, we need to recognize that not every decision that President Obama makes is directed at or against Israel. Many decisions made in Washington relating to defense and/or security matters are primarily based on broad-based U.S. defense and security needs and only incidentally on Israel. We need to view it in that perspective and not read into it too much about intentions toward Israel. Such may be the case here.”

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