Inhofe criticizes Defense nominee at hearing
BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Thursday, January 31, 2013
1/31/13 at 10:11 AM
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said Thursday that Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has demonstrated "a lack of sound judgment" while continuing "steadfast support for policies that diminish U.S. power and influence throughout the world."
Inhofe's remarks came during his opening statement at Hagel's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Inhofe is the committee's ranking Republican.
Inhofe said Hagel is "a good man," but that "we are just too philosophically opposed on the pressing issues facing our country for me to support his nomination."
“On many of the security challenges facing U.S. interests around the world, Senator Hagel’s record is deeply troubling and out of the mainstream," Inhofe said. "Too often, it seems, he is willing to subscribe to a worldview that is predicated on appeasing our adversaries while shunning our friends."
Inhofe cited votes taken by Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, involving Israel and Iran in 2000 and 2001. He also criticized Hagel's positions on nuclear disarmament and for calling the Defense Department "bloated."
Read more on the hearings in Friday's Tulsa World.
Associated Images:
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. Tulsa World File
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