Hagel calls for bipartisan foreign policy

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BY DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star

Sen. Chuck Hagel said Thursday he and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama fundamentally agree on foreign policy.

“We generally agree about (policy in) Iraq and Afghanistan,” the Republican senator said during a telephone interview from Washington following his trip to the Mideast with Obama.

Both agree on the need for diplomatic talks with Iran and the importance of active U.S. engagement in seeking an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, Hagel said.

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U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

The United States needs to “put some energy into helping resolve” the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, he said.

“It’s very much at the core of so much of the problem in the Middle East,” he said.

“I think (Obama) would make that a priority of his administration” if he’s elected, Hagel said.

What the next president needs to do, Hagel said, is forge a bipartisan foreign policy that will restore America’s prestige and influence in the world.

“We’re in terrible trouble in the world,” Hagel earlier told a telephone news conference.

“We need to reintroduce ourselves to the world” in a manner that re-establishes confidence, credibility and trust in U.S. leadership, he said.

Hagel returned to Washington this week from a congressional trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with Obama and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.

A Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Hagel said he believes it was important to have a bipartisan presence on the tour.

Congressional trips are traditionally bipartisan, he said.

Hagel said he did not “ask permission” from his Republican colleagues to join Obama on the high-profile trip.

Either presumptive Republican nominee John McCain or Obama will be chosen to “govern this country and lead the world,” he said, and both need bipartisan cooperation to succeed.

Despite their long and deep friendship, Hagel has not endorsed McCain, a strong supporter of the war in Iraq and hardline opponent of direct U.S. negotiations with Iran.

Hagel has been the most outspoken Republican congressional critic of Iraq war policy, warned long ago about the loss of U.S. focus in Afghanistan and repeatedly has urged the Bush administration to be more energetic in helping resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.  He has argued for diplomatic engagement with Iran and Syria for some time.

“We’re not going to unwind all the bad decisions made in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Hagel said.

“We’re in a mess.  We’ve got a huge problem and we’ve got to work our way out of this in a responsible way.”

Hagel supports a phased withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq and opposes establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in that country.

“We need more military presence in Afghanistan,” he said.  That translates into at least two additional U.S. combat brigades, he said.

Hagel dodged questions about Obama’s performance during the trip, except to suggest the Illinois senator gave “a good, thoughtful statement” about conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan during a joint news conference in Jordan.

“I think all three of us have a pretty solid grasp on what the reality is there,” he said.

Hagel declined to assess how hours of conversation with Obama during the trip may have allowed him to take a better measure of the man.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.