Hagel: US Iran strategy working “so well, don’t you think?”
Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, a prominent and respected critic of the Bush administration’s foreign policy, took a sarcastic jab at current US strategy for dealing with Iran on CNN. He was asked to rebut criticism from diplomacy-foe John Bolton, who remarked that he didn’t think Iran would be "chit-chatted" out of a nuclear weapon. Hagel responded by pointing out the failure of the Bush administration’s strategy and showing that serious diplomacy is more than "chit-chat":
Think Progress has the video here.
Hagel garnered attention last week for his letter to administration officials calling for direct, unconditional talks between the US and Iran. Hagel is playing an important role in not only criticizing the idea of military confrontation with Iran, but offering a vision for a viable alternative. Now it’s time for Hagelâs colleagues in Congress to step up to the plate.