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- A suicide bomber wearing a vest bomb struck outside the Afghan defense ministry on Saturday, killing at least 10 people in a blast just hours after Chuck Hagel, the new United States defense secretary, arrived here in Kabul. And a short time later, another suicide bomber detonated his explosive in eastern Afghanistan before reaching his target, but killed eight children and a policeman, according to Afghan military and hospital officials.

America must not "dictate" to world, new defense chief says 2:01pm EST By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Decorated Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel was sworn in as U.S. defense secretary on Wednesday after a bruising Senate confirmation battle, and promised to renew old U.S. alliances and forge new ones without attempting to "dictate" to the world. Addressing Pentagon employees shortly after a small, closed-door swearing-in ceremony, Hagel spoke optimistically, if vaguely, about global challenges ahead and the importance of American leadership abroad. "We can't dictate to the world. But we must engage the world. We must lead with our allies,"...

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:47pm EST (Reuters) - The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama's new secretary of defense, ending an unusually acrimonious confirmation fight. The Senate voted 58-41 to confirm the former Republican senator as the civilian leader of the Pentagon in a largely party line vote. Just four Republicans joined the Democrats and independents in support of Hagel's nomination. The Senate had voted earlier on Tuesday to end debate and move forward, almost two weeks after Republicans launched a filibuster to block Hagel's nomination. It was the first time...

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the nation will now have the defense secretary it needs. "With the bipartisan confirmation of Chuck Hagel as our next Secretary of Defense, we will have the defense secretary our nation needs and the leader our troops deserve," he said in a statement. "From the moment he volunteered for military service in Vietnam, Chuck has devoted his life to keeping America secure and our armed forces strong. An American patriot who fought and bled for our country, he understands our sacred obligations to our service members, military families and veterans.

WASHINGTON — Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said his support for a filibuster against Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel never meant that he would vote against Hagel's confirmation. "I voted no because I wanted more information and I think that part of what the Senate does is try to get information about the nominees," Paul told reporters in the basement of the Capitol after Hagel's confirmation Tuesday. "I've said all along that I give the president some prerogative in choosing his political appointees." "There are many things I disagree with Chuck Hagel on, there are many things I disagree with John Kerry...

Chuck Hagel won confirmation Tuesday to become defense secretary over objections to his views on Middle East security and the administration’s handling of an attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya. On a 58 to 41 vote, the Senate confirmed the former GOP senator as four Republicans joined 54 Democrats in approving Hagel, ending a nearly two-month battle that included an unprecedented filibuster against the nominee. The four Republican senators voting in favor were Thad Cochran (Miss.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and Rand Paul (Ky.). All 41 no votes came from Republicans. The vote marked a foreign...

I told you the yays would be closer to 70 than to 60. Final tally: 71-27. You didn't seriously think these losers would go to the mat to block a nominee just because he's manifestly unqualified, did you?Eighteen Republicans voted yes, according to Fox's Chad Pergram. The roll of glory: R's voting to end debate on Hagel: Alexander, Ayotte, Blunt, Burr, Chambliss, Coburn, Cochran, Collins, Corker, Flake, Graham, Hatch ...— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 26, 2013 R’s voting to end debate on Hagel (con’t): Johanns, McCain, Murkowski, Sessions, Shelby and Thune.— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 26, 2013 Remember, Maverick has...

Chuck Hagel moved a step closer to confirmation as Defense secretary after the Senate voted Tuesday afternoon 71-27 to end a GOP-led filibuster of his controversial nomination. A final vote is expected no later than Wednesday evening. Hagel will likely win final confirmation with fewer votes, however, making him the first successful Pentagon chief to attain the post with more than two dissenting votes in decades. Leon Panetta, the outgoing secretary, was confirmed unanimously in 2011.

As opponents and media outlets were scouring to locate two or perhaps more of former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel’s undisclosed speech videos, which they believe can undermine his nomination for Defense secretary, Hagel’s supporters believe the videos won’t harm his confirmation in late February.snip While they may fall outside the post-2008 time frame, the IPT has compiled evidence that Hagel delivered a number of questionable talks in 2007 as well. That year, Hagel delivered a speech at Rutgers University in New Jersey hosted by the university’s Center for Middle East Studies and the American Iranian Council in which he called...

GOP Denies Hagel Block A True Filibuster Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) (R) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) hold a press conference demanded answers on the attacks on an American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi and to announce they will hold President Obama's pending nominations until they receive the information for Defense Secretary and CIA Director WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Republicans denied their move to block Chuck Hagel's defense secretary nomination was a true filibuster because they expected Hagel to be confirmed. They said they stalled the nomination because they wanted more information about their fellow Republican's post-Senate career,...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Hagel Claimed Israel Controls the State DepartmentPosted By Daniel Greenfield On February 14, 2013 @ 2:51 pm In The Point | 10 Comments Considering that the State Department tends to be the part of the United States government most hostile to Israel, that is about as realistic as those Islamist accusations that the Jews control Iran.Speaking of Iran, the Hagel speaking event was sponsored by the Iran Lobby. So the Iran Lobby will now appoint its guy as the Secretary of Defense, with not a single Democrat daring to stand up and speak out...

Sources in both parties tell me compromise in the works to delay vote on Hagel, but make it a 51 vote threshold not 60. Deal not done yet— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) February 14, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mike Johanns called out his fellow Senate Republicans on Thursday for claiming that they aren't technically filibustering as they try to hold up Chuck Hagel's nomination to be defense secretary. "It's a filibuster," Johanns said. "If the Democrats were doing this, we would be hollering that this was a filibuster and probably did in the past." A number of Republicans are pushing to delay consideration of Hagel, the former GOP senator from Nebraska, requiring a 60-vote threshold on a procedural vote that Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., scheduled for Friday.

Reid has 57 votes for cloture. Collins of Maine is one of two R's supporting cloture but claims she'll vote "no" on floor vote, when her vote will make no difference. What a coward.

Senator Roy Blunt indicated Wednesday that there are enough votes in the Senate to delay the Hagel confirmation.

See Video of Levin Statement at: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/50784625#50784625

February 11, 2013 2:47 PM Inhofe to ‘Postpone’ Hagel Vote By Robert Costa Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, tells National Review Online that he will “postpone” the nomination of Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense. “I’ll do that for as long as it takes,” he says, firmly. “I’m going to make sure there is a 60-vote margin.” “Hagel may be passed out of the committee, but it’s going to be a long, long time before he hits the floor,” Inhofe says. “We’re going to need as much time as...

Countering the Republican-led opposition to President Barack Obama’s nominee for defense secretary is a less flashy but powerful constituency: military veterans. Veterans’ organizations have praised Chuck Hagel, a twice-wounded combat veteran of Vietnam and deputy administrator in President Ronald Reagan’s Veterans Administration. The Veterans of Foreign Wars has called him uniquely qualified to become Pentagon chief. The Military Officers Association of America said his experience gives him “a range of perspectives.” The American Legion said he was a longtime advocate for veterans. … VoteVets, a left-leaning veterans group, has campaigned for Hagel through social media, old-fashioned letters to editors and...

Surprised they didn't opt for the Inquisition analogy . . . On Chris Hayes's MSNBC show this morning, Ali Gharib, editor of the "Open Zion" blog at the Daily Beast, described the questioning of Chuck Hagel at his Senate confirmation hearing as "a Republican purge" and a "Maoist public shaming." Michael Hastings of the Rolling Stone begged to differ, finding it more reminiscent of "Stalin." View the video here.

Editor's Note: This column was coauthored by Bob Morrison. Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense should be withdrawn now. He delivered what may be the worst performance at a confirmation hearing ever given. He was described as “confused,” “befuddled,” and “self contradicting.” One of Mr. Hagel’s own backers deplored the lack of “charisma” the nominee showed during the hearings. Was this just a "Bad Hair Day"for Mr. Hagel? “Hagel, who can be hilarious, didn’t show much of that today,” said Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation. Let the record show that never before has...