Hagel: US sending Army soldiers to Jordan

Published April 17, 2013

Associated Press

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tells senators he is sending about 200 soldiers from an Army headquarters unit to Jordan to assist efforts to contain violence along the Syrian border and plan for any operations needed to assure the safety of chemical weapons in Syria. 

The 1st Armored Division troops are largely planners and will replace a similar number of U.S. forces that have been in Jordan for some months. They will include specialists in intelligence, logistics and operations. 

Sending a cohesive headquarters unit will enhance the troops' ability to respond to any security needs, and will provide leadership personnel that could command additional forces if it's determined they are needed in the future. 

The unit is based at Fort Bliss, Texas. Hagel was speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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Hagel cancels creation of new drone, cyber medal following widespread criticism

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  FILE: Undated: This image released by the Department of Defense shows the obverse view with ribbon of the newly announced Distinguished Warefare Medal.AP

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday cancelled the production of a new military medal for service members involved in drone attacks and cyber warfare -- following widespread criticism that the award would rank higher than the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Hagel instead wants military leaders to develop a special pin or object that would be attached to already existing medals or ribbons.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal was created by Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, and it immediately triggered complaints from veterans and lawmakers.

Hagel last month ordered the military to stop production of the medal, and top defense and military leaders began a new review.

“While the review confirmed the need to ensure such recognition, it found that misconceptions regarding the precedence of the award were distracting from its original purpose,” said Hagel, who was twice awarded the Purple Heart.

The leaders have instead recommended the creation of an alternative honor, similar to the "V" for valor that can be attached to the Bronze Star and other medals to reward an act of heroism.

Hagel asked Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to report back to him in 30 days.

When Panetta announced the medal would be created in mid-February, defense officials said it would be considered a bit higher in ranking than the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, but lower than the Silver Star.

Panetta said the new medal, for only a small number of service men and women, reflected battlefield contributions in a world of changing warfare. He said that remotely piloted aircraft and cyber systems have changed the way that wars are fought and can change the course of a conflict from afar.

But the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other groups sent a letter to President Obama in March, asking him to keep the medal ranked below the Purple Heart, which is awarded for combat injuries. Critics said the ranking was an injustice to those troops who risked their lives in battle.

“The right decision was made,” the VFW said Monday. “This decision will clearly keep medals that can only be earned in combat in their high order of precedence, while providing proper recognition to all who support our war-fighters regardless of their distance from the fight.”

The American Legion's national commander, James E. Koutz, said Hagel's decision keeps the evolving roles of military combat in proper perspective.

"Cyber and drone warfare have become part of the equation for 21st-century combat, and those who fight such battles with distinction certainly deserve to be recognized," Koutz said in a statement. "But the American Legion still believes there's a fundamental difference between those who fight remotely, or via computer, and those fighting against an enemy who is trying to kill them."

As originally conceived, the blue, red and white-ribboned medal was to be awarded to individuals for "extraordinary achievement" related to a military operation that occurred after Sept. 11, 2001. But it does not require the recipient to risk his or her life to get it.

Over the last decade of war, remotely piloted Predator and Reaper drones have become a critical weapon to gather intelligence and conduct air strikes against terrorists or insurgents around the world. They have been used extensively on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and northern Africa.

Over the same time, cyber attacks have become a growing national security threat, with Panetta and others warning that the next Pearl Harbor could well be a computer-based assault.

The Bronze Star is the fourth-highest combat decoration and rewards meritorious service in battle, while the Silver Star is the third-highest combat award given for bravery. The Purple Heart is ranked just below the Bronze Star.

Several other awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, are also ranked higher than the Silver Star, but are not awarded for combat.

In addition to veterans' concerns, there is a practical side to the rankings for currently serving troops. There are grades of medals -- commendation, merit, distinguished -- that affect promotions for those still in uniform. Each grade gives troops a certain number of points needed for promotions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Hagel calls N. Korea 'real and clear danger,' as US plans defense system in Guam

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    How dangerous is North Korea?

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    Bias Bash: Media serious enough on N. Korea threat coverage?

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday that North Korea's rising threats pose a "real and clear danger," as the Pentagon continued to take precautions with a plan to deploy a missile-defense system to Guam. 

A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the military will deploy an Army system shown as a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Guam. The system is capable of shooting down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. 

This follows the positioning of two U.S. destroyer ships in the region, along with plans to have two sea-based radar systems in the western Pacific. 

Hagel, speaking Wednesday at the National Defense University, said the cascade of threats out of North Korea must be taken "seriously," given the country's nuclear and missile-delivery capacity -- though analysts say the country still could not fire a nuclear-tipped missile all the way to the continental United States. 

"As they have ratcheted up (their) bellicose, dangerous rhetoric -- and some of the actions they've taken over the last few weeks present a real and clear danger and threat to the interests, certainly of our allies, starting with South Korea and Japan," Hagel said. He also cited the "threats that the North Koreans have leveled directly at the United States regarding our base in Guam, threatened Hawaii, threatened to the West Coast of the United States." 

The Kim Jong Un regime has toggled in recent weeks between threatening the U.S. and threatening South Korea. 

The latest development was North Korea reportedly announcing it had "ratified" a strike plan against the United States. Also Wednesday, it decided to bar South Korean managers and trucks delivering supplies from crossing the border to enter a jointly run factory park called Kaesong. 

The Kaesong industrial park started producing goods in 2004 and has been an unusual point of cooperation in an otherwise hostile relationship between the Koreas, whose three-year war ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty. 

The Kaesong move came a day after the North said it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and a uranium enrichment plant. Both could produce fuel for nuclear weapons that North Korea is developing and has threatened to hurl at the U.S., something experts don't think it will be able to accomplish for years. 

The North's rising rhetoric has been met by a display of U.S. military strength, including flights of nuclear-capable bombers and stealth jets at annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that the allies call routine and North Korea says are invasion preparations. 

In a telephone call Tuesday evening to Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, Hagel cited North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and said Washington and Beijing should continue to cooperate on those problems. 

"The secretary emphasized the growing threat to the U.S. and our allies posed by North Korea's aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and expressed to General Chang the importance of sustained U.S.-China dialogue and cooperation on these issues," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement describing the phone call. 

Little also disclosed that Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit China later this month. It would be Dempsey's first trip to China as head of the Joint Chiefs. 

Hagel also invited the Chinese defense minister to visit the United States this year. 

Fox News' Justin Fishel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Hagel orders review of US defense strategy

Published March 18, 2013

Associated Press

In response to the budget cuts that took effect March 1, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a re-evaluation of the underpinnings of the defense strategy that President Barack Obama announced 14 months ago.

Hagel spokesman George Little said Monday that the new defense chief wants to see the results by May 31.

Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, had said repeatedly that if the forced budget cuts took effect the administration would have to redo its defense strategy. Little said Hagel's review will take that 2011 strategy as the "point of departure," and it will examine whether the assumptions underlying it are valid in light of the budget crisis.

The Pentagon faces the deepest cuts in spending in decades and has fewer protectors of the military in Congress.

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Hagel unveils $1B plan to beef up missile defense, eyeing new sites on East Coast

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel unveiled Friday a $1 billion Pentagon plan to beef up missile defense in response to threats from North Korea, saying part of the plan would be to explore three new sites for ground-based interceptors.

One of the potential sites would be at Alaska's Fort Greeley, which already is home to missile silos. The other two potential locations haven't been disclosed but would be somewhere on the East Coast.

Under the plan, first reported Thursday by Fox News, the Pentagon would commit at least 14 additional ground-based interceptors to Fort Greeley and send an additional radar system to Japan, with a cost for the project estimated at just under $1 billion.

The announcement follows a recent threat from Pyongyang of a "pre-emptive" nuclear strike on the United States. Officials are signaling that they are taking North Korea's young, new ruler, Kim Jong Un, seriouusly.

"The young lad ought to be deterred," Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. Winnefeld said Friday at the news conference to announce the missile defense plan.

The extra interceptors on the West Coast, designed to counter attacks from an intercontinental ballistic missile, would bring the total number of interceptors to 44, a plan originally proposed by the Bush administration. President Obama stopped the deployment of the additional interceptors when he took office in 2009, leaving the total number at 30.

Congressional sources claim that by stalling the original plan and forcing the military to bring back on line silos that otherwise would have been operational, the Obama administration has effectively wasted millions in taxpayer’s dollars.

It’s a sentiment that is not likely to sit well with conservative lawmakers when the plan is announced on Monday, particularly as they seek new austerity measures.

An Obama administration official tells Fox News that the increase in interceptors is a logical response to an evolving threat from North Korea and that “anyone who suggests we should have stayed the course” with the Bush administration’s plan is engaging in “Monday morning quarterbacking.”

This official says the North Korean threat is much different from what it was in 2009. Along with the continued testing of nuclear weapons and longer-range delivery systems, the North Koreans have advanced their mobile missile capability, even within the last six to eight months.

“What we were defending against (from North Korea) four years ago was a single rogue missile, now with the mobile missile developing you have got to be able to counter multiple missile threats … so you have to expand your capability.”

Whether intentional or not, the announcement also coincides with 30th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative speech.  The nation’s first ground-based interceptors were set up in 2002 under President George W. Bush.

Fox News' Justin Fishel contributed to this report.

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Karzai, Hagel news conference canceled as Afghan leader says US working with Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan –  U.S. officials say a news conference with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is cancelled because of a security threat, but the two men plan to meet privately.

The cancellation comes a day after a suicide bomber on a bicycle struck outside the Afghan Defense Ministry killing nine Afghan civilians and wounding 14 others.

U.S. officials would not provide details on the security concerns. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said the cancellation was not due to remarks Karzai made earlier suggesting that the Taliban and the U.S. are working in concert to convince Afghans that violence will worsen if most foreign troops leave as planned by the end of next year.

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Take 2: Senate tees up Tuesday test vote on Hagel

The Senate plans to vote once again on Chuck Hagel's nomination for Defense secretary, with supporters aiming to clear a procedural hurdle after Republicans blocked the nominee in a historic filibuster earlier this month. 

According to a Senate Democratic leadership aide, the Senate plans to hold the test vote Tuesday morning. If Hagel clears the 60-vote threshold, a final vote would likely be scheduled by Wednesday. 

The second attempt comes after Senate Republicans blocked Hagel on Feb. 14, marking the first time the chamber had successfully filibustered a Cabinet nominee. Republicans voiced lingering concerns about Hagel's record, but for the most part held up the nomination over demands for more information from the Obama administration on the Sept. 11 Libya attacks. 

Some Republicans have indicated that, while they oppose Hagel, they would be willing to allow an up-or-down vote -- which requires only a simple majority. If that happens, Democrats have the numbers to approve Hagel for the Pentagon. 

Before the stalled vote on the floor, a bitterly divided Senate Armed Services Committee voted to approve Hagel on a 14-11 vote. The committee's Republicans were unified in opposition to their onetime colleague. 

Hagel has faced intense opposition from Republicans, who have challenged his past statements and votes on Israel, Iran, Iraq and nuclear weapons. They continue to seek remarks from his lesser-known speeches. 

Meanwhile, another prominent Obama nominee -- Jack Lew, his pick for Treasury secretary -- is expected to face a vote on the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. 

Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana says Lew has answered the committee's questions "in a thorough and fully transparent manner" and the committee has conducted a "thorough review" of the nominee. 

Lew would succeed Timothy Geithner in Obama's second-term Cabinet. 

Some of the toughest questions he faced during his confirmation hearing dealt with his short time at Citibank. Lew was a top executive during the height of the financial crisis. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Republican senators call on Obama to withdraw Hagel nomination

At least 15 Republican senators called on President Obama Thursday to withdraw his nomination of Chuck Hagel for Defense secretary, citing the historic controversy surrounding the nominee. 

Hagel was blocked last week from an up-or-down vote in the Senate, in an unprecedented move against a candidate to lead the Pentagon. Lawmakers held up the nomination over lingering questions on the Benghazi terror attack but also concerns about Hagel's record of controversial statements and positions on a range of Middle East issues. 

Lawmakers are expected to vote again on Hagel when they return to Washington next week, with some of Hagel's critics indicating they will allow an up-or-down vote. 

But the 15 Republican lawmakers said it would be unwise at this point to proceed with a nomination so controversial, for a job so critical. 

"It would be unprecedented for a Secretary of Defense to take office without the broad base of bipartisan support and confidence needed to serve effectively in this critical position," they wrote. "Over the last half-century, no Secretary of Defense has been confirmed and taken office with more than three Senators voting against him. 

"Further, in the history of this position, none has ever been confirmed with more than 11 opposing votes. The occupant of this critical office should be someone whose candidacy is neither controversial nor divisive," they wrote. 

Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, took the lead on the letter. 

Still, another senior Republican senator said Thursday that he plans to vote in favor of Hagel. 

Sen. Richard Shelby told a newspaper that while he has concerns about Hagel, he plans to support his fellow Republican and the former two-term senator from Nebraska. 

"He's probably as good as we're going to get," Shelby said. 

Jonathan Graffeo, a spokesman for Shelby, said Thursday that barring any unforeseen surprises between now and an expected Senate vote on Tuesday, the 30-year senator will back Hagel. 

Obama's choice to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has faced strong Republican opposition, and last week the Republicans succeeded in an unprecedented delaying tactic for a nominee for Pentagon chief. Shelby joined most of his Republicans colleagues in voting against moving ahead on the Hagel nomination. 

With another vote slated for next week, Shelby now stands with two other Republicans who have indicated their support for Hagel -- Thad Cochran and Mike Johanns. The Republican support -- combined with 55 Democratic votes and two other Republicans opposed to delaying tactics -- would give the nomination the requisite 60 votes out of 100 necessary to move ahead. 

Republicans have criticized Hagel for his past statements and votes, contending that he hasn't been sufficiently supportive of Israel and has been too tolerant of Iran. They also have challenged his support for reducing the nation's nuclear arsenal and his opposition to the Iraq war after his initial vote for the conflict. 

His nomination also has become entangled in Republican demands for more information from the Obama administration about the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last September that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.   

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Chuck Hagel is 'willfully blind' about Iran

On March 2, 2007, Sen. Chuck Hagel delivered a speech at Rutgers University that has attracted more than its share of controversy. First, Hagel allegedly accused the State Department of being controlled by the Israeli Foreign Ministry in the Q&A after the speech (he disavows and does not recall those remarks). Next, the Daily Caller reported that Hagel was invited by Hooshang Amirahmadi, a candidate for the Iranian presidency approved by Iran’s radical Guardian Council. 

While the source of the invitation and the allegations regarding the unrecorded question- and-answer session are certainly interesting, they’re less interesting than the text of the speech itself, which demonstrates that Hagel is simply wrong about Iran. He’s worse than wrong. To borrow a phrase from my friend Andrew McCarthy, he’s willfully blind.

In the speech, in which he supposedly demonstrates his grasp on the “complexities” of the Middle East, he says the following:

Senators should block the nomination of a man so willfully blind that he can’t even see Iran’s war against the U.S.

Iran has cooperated with the United States on Afghanistan to help the Afghans establish a new government after the Taliban was ousted. Iran continues to invest heavily in the reconstruction of western Afghanistan.

On Afghanistan, the United States and Iran found common interests: defeating the Taliban and Islamic radicals, stabilizing Afghanistan, stopping the opium production and the flow of opium coming into Iran. From these common interests emerged common actions working toward a common purpose.

This expression of “common interests” and cooperation is staggering – especially considering the timing. Not two months before he delivered the speech, Iran’s Quds Force, a paramilitary terrorist arm of the Iranian government, engineered a raid on an American base in Karbala, Iraq.  Four American soldiers were kidnapped and summarily and brutally executed. 

In short, Hagel delivered his speech, a speech lauding Iran’s cooperation, not two months after an overt act of war against this nation. To be sure, Hagel did pay lip service to Iran’s hostile acts, saying “Iran has not helped stabilize the current chaos in Iraq and is responsible for weapons and explosives being used against U.S. and Iraqi military forces in Iraq.”  Yet this language is almost comically deceptive.

“Not helped stabilize” is dramatic understatement when Iran is responsible for launching direct attacks against American soldiers. “[R]esponsible for weapons and explosives being used” minimizes the direct supply chain set up between Iran and hostile Shiite missiles in Iraq. In fact, the single deadliest weapon against Americans in Iraq, the “explosively formed penetrator” (EFP) comes directly from Iran and was used against American troops on Iranian orders. A Feb. 16, 2007, Fox News report – two weeks before Hagel’s speech – outlines the role of the Quds Force in supplying Shiite militaries with EFPs. 

But what about Afghanistan? Hagel made the claim that Iran had been helpful, as if it was compartmentalizing its attacks on Americans to one theater of operations. How breathtakingly naïve. In fact, in April 2007 – one month after Hagel’s speech – British soldiers intercepted Iranian arms shipments in Afghanistan.  As early as February 2007, al-Jazeera was reporting on the presence of EFPs in Afghanistan.

Make no mistake, Iran’s war of aggression against American soldiers continues. In 2011, just as American soldiers were preparing to leave Iraq, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps supplied allied militias with new and dangerous weapons. In February of that year, British forces even intercepted an Iranian shipment of 122-mm. rockets with a range of 13 miles – rockets that would dramatically increase Taliban striking power.

In July 2011, respected Atlantic columnist Jeffrey Goldberg surveyed the evidence of Iran’s recent aggression and declared: “[This] means that Iran is waging war against the United States of America.”

“Waging war.”

Given this longstanding reality, how can Hagel possibly justify his remarks at Rutgers?  How can we trust him to join the National Command Authority and become the second-in-command of the American military? Administration efforts to minimize his policy-making role ring hollow. He will be, after all, Obama’s senior defense adviser.

Now is not the time for Republican senators to go wobbly. They can and should block the nomination of a man so willfully blind that he can’t even see Iran’s war against the U.S.

Jay Sekulow is the Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice

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