Israel mum over Obama's Pentagon pick
2013-01-08 20:26
Jerusalem - The Israeli government kept clear on Tuesday
of a brewing battle in Washington over US President Barack Obama's choice for
defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, whose record on Iran and Israel is under
scrutiny.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister
Ehud Barak offered no immediate comment on the pick, announced on Monday after
being rumoured for weeks in which some pro-Israel figures pilloried the former
Republican senator.
Parting with the rightist government's reticence were two
relatively junior officials, Civil Defence Minister Avi Dichter and Deputy
Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, neither of whom is expected to stay on after
Israel's national election on 22 January.
"There have already been nominations in the past that
looked very troubling to us, and ultimately reality turned out totally
differently, both for better and for worse," Dichter told Israel Radio in
an interview.
"Therefore, I think we should be careful. We do not
nominate people in agencies in other countries in general, and especially in
the US. So, as it is customary to say to those being nominated there: Welcome."
Netanyahu, who is favoured for re-election, has had a
testy relationship with Obama, a Democrat who won a second term in November -
though both insist their nations' alliance is sound.
Israel, which receives around $3bn a year in US defence
grants, has at times challenged the Obama administration by threatening pre-emptive
war against the disputed Iranian nuclear programme, while world powers pursue
talks with Tehran.
Obama has also criticised the Netanyahu government's
settlement of occupied West Bank land, which the Palestinians blame for the
two-year-old impasse in negotiations with Israel.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it hoped Hagel's
appointment would change US policy and make Washington "more respectful of
the rights of nations".
Good cop
The pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom quoted an unnamed
government official on Tuesday as saying the choice of Hagel was "very bad
news", adding: "Clearly it won't be easy with him."
The official suggested having Hagel in the Pentagon would
allow the president "to play 'good cop'" with Netanyahu.
Many Republicans say Hagel, who left the Senate in 2008,
at times opposed Israel's interests.
He voted repeatedly against US sanctions on Iran and made
disparaging remarks about the influence of what he called a "Jewish
lobby" in Washington.
Hagel sought to beat back the bias allegations on Monday,
telling the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper his record showed "unequivocal,
total support for Israel" and that he had "said many times that Iran
is a state sponsor of terrorism".
"Furthering the peace process in the Middle East is
in Israel's interest," added Hagel.
His statements appeared to be supported by Ayalon, a
former envoy to the US, who told Israel's biggest-selling newspaper Yedioth
Ahronoth: "I have met him many times, and he certainly regards Israel as a
true and natural US ally."
Despite the criticisms of Hagel, the White House believes
it can garner enough support for him on both sides of the political aisle to
win confirmation in the Democrat-led Senate.
A decorated Vietnam War veteran, Hagel has criticised the
size of the US military, telling the Financial Times in 2011 that the Pentagon
was "bloated" and needed "to be pared down".
Debate continues
Hagel has also been attacked by gay rights groups for
remarks in 1998 questioning whether an "openly aggressively gay" nominee
could be an effective US ambassador. He apologised for the comments last month,
saying they were "insensitive".
The American debate over Hagel has reached Israeli media,
with one Yedioth columnist predicting the Pentagon pick would be Netanyahu's
"nightmare".
The prime minister delivered two speeches on Monday and
Tuesday but made no reference to Hagel.
Moshe Arens, a former Israeli defence minister, played
down the impact of Hagel's nomination on Obama's strategies.
"In the US, policy is made by the president, not by
the members of the cabinet," he told Reuters, noting that Ronald Reagan, a
former president considered warm to Israel, had a less sympathetic defence
secretary, Caspar Weinberger.
