Obama chooses Chuck Hagel as defense chief

US President Barack Obama on Monday nominated former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense and White House counter-terrorism chief John Brennan to run the Central Intelligence Agency.    

Controversy surrounds both choices, but the president called on the Senate to quickly confirm both at what are expected to be tough confirmation hearings.     

In a White House East Room announcement, Obama said Hagel, a decorated Vietnam veteran and Republican maverick who opposed the Iraq War surge and complained of mission creep in Afghanistan, is "the leader that our troops deserve."     

"He is an American patriot, he enlisted in the Army and volunteered for Vietnam," Obama said as he announced his pick.   

The president said Hagel knows first hand what it means to send troops into battle.  And he said American forces will always know they are the administration's first priority.     

"Maybe most importantly, Chuck knows that war is not an abstraction. He understands that sending young Americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that's something we only do when it's absolutely necessary....With Chuck, our troops will always know, just like Sergeant Hagel was there for his own brother, Secretary Hagel will be there for you," Obama said.     

For his part, Hagel thanked Obama "for this opportunity to serve this country again, especially its men and women in uniform. ... These are people who give so much to this nation every day."   

But some lawmakers from both sides of the aisle aren't sure Hagel is the right man for the job and are vowing to fight his nomination.  

Democrats have expressed concern about remarks Hagel made in 1998 regarding an ambassador nominee who Hagel called "openly, aggressively gay."  

But Republican critics concerned that Hagel is anti-Israel and too soft on Iran have been the loudest and could prove the toughest in a nomination battle.   

Those same critics are also upset that Hagel voted for US military involvement in the Iraq war at first but later opposed it.    

He then broke ranks with other Republicans to support Obama for president in 2008.    

"It's the Republicans who I think are most concerned because they see him as having deserted the flock, in some sense, on what to do about Iraq or what to do about Iran. And they see him as being a little bit too soft on Iran policy, specifically for the decisions we're going to have to make going forward," said Brookings Institution defence analyst, Michael O'Hanlon.


APTN