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Chuck Hagel grilled in Senate confirmation hearing Chuck Hagel grilled in Senate confirmation hearing
(35 minutes later)
Defence Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has talked tough on Iran while pledging to support a strong Israeli military, at a testy confirmation hearing.Defence Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has talked tough on Iran while pledging to support a strong Israeli military, at a testy confirmation hearing.
Members of the Senate armed services committee are questioning Mr Hagel, who has been accused of remarks hostile to Israel and soft on Iran. Members of the Senate armed services committee questioned Mr Hagel, who has been accused of remarks hostile to Israel and soft on Iran.
The Republican former Nebraska senator told the panel he could not be defined by any individual quote.The Republican former Nebraska senator told the panel he could not be defined by any individual quote.
The hearing will lead to a final Senate vote on Mr Hagel's appointment.The hearing will lead to a final Senate vote on Mr Hagel's appointment.
At Thursday's public hearing, Mr Hagel said: "No one individual vote, quote or statement defines me, my beliefs, or my record." Correspondents say he will probably be confirmed by the committee.
Although Democrats control the Senate, they may need Republican support to overcome procedural hurdles that could stop Mr Hagel's nomination.
Heated exchange
If confirmed, he would be the first enlisted man - and the first Vietnam veteran - to run the Pentagon.
This has been a hesitant and at times uncomfortable experience for Chuck Hagel - certainly not the commanding performance the White House might have hoped for. Part of the problem is that the nominee himself spent 12 years in the Senate, handing his opponents an extensive voting record to cross examine. The responses have sometimes felt unfocused, even unprepared.
It's also clear that some of Mr Hagel's former Republican colleagues have deep misgivings about his judgement. There's a discernible suspicion that he would prove soft on Iran. While on Iraq, Senator John McCain told the nominee to his face that he'd been on the wrong side of history by opposing the troop surge.
Awkward stuff, but it won't matter too much if Democrats can amass the 60 Senate votes needed to secure confirmation. It was telling that committee Democrats rallied round by offering Mr Hagel openings to clarify his positions.
At Thursday's public hearing, Mr Hagel said in his opening statement: "No one individual vote, quote or statement defines me, my beliefs, or my record."
He said he was "fully committed" to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, with "all options" on the table.He said he was "fully committed" to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, with "all options" on the table.
"I will ensure our friend and ally Israel maintains its qualitative military edge in the region," he added."I will ensure our friend and ally Israel maintains its qualitative military edge in the region," he added.
Mr Hagel also addressed criticism over a remark he made in a 2008 book that the "Jewish lobby" intimidates decision-makers on Capitol Hill.
"I've already said, I regret referencing the Jewish lobby," he told the hearing. "I should have said the pro-Israeli lobby."
Mr Hagel would be the only Republican in President Barack Obama's cabinet if the Senate confirms him to replace outgoing Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
In nominating a Republican, the Democratic president reached out across party lines. But it is from his own former colleagues on the right that Mr Hagel faces scepticism.
Only one Republican senator, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, has publicly backed the nominee.
Once the hearing was under way, the Republican National Committee sent a news release saying Mr Hagel was the wrong choice to lead the Pentagon.
At least three Republicans on the Senate armed services committee have said they do not support his nomination.
Heated exchangeHeated exchange
The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington says that in nominating a Republican as his next defence secretary, President Barack Obama reached out across party lines. One of those is Senator Jim Inhofe, the top Republican on the panel, who said shortly after the hearing began: "Senator Hagel's record is deeply troubling and out of the mainstream."
But it is from his own former colleagues on the right that Chuck Hagel faces skepticism, our correspondent says. There was also a heated exchange between John McCain and Mr Hagel.
Senator Jim Inhofe, the top Republican on the committee, said shortly after the hearing began: "Senator Hagel's record is deeply troubling and out of the mainstream." The Arizona senator took the Pentagon nominee to task over remarks he made once that the 2006 Iraq troop surge would be "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam".
A heated exchange followed as Senator John McCain asked the Pentagon nominee about a remark he once made that bolstering troop levels during the Iraq war was "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam". But Democratic Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the committee, said his concerns had been allayed.
As Mr Hagel began to explain the comments, Sen McCain interrupted to say: "Do you think you were correct or incorrect, that's a direct question." "Senator Hagel's reassurance to me," Sen Levin said, "that he supports the Obama administration's strong stance against Iran is significant."
Mr Hagel replied that he would "let history decide". The hearing is the first time Mr Hagel has publicly addressed the barrage of criticism.
Sen McCain answered: "I think history has already made a judgment on the surge, and you are on the wrong side of it." In the past, he has criticised the idea of a military strike by either the US or Israel against Iran. He has also advocated including Iran on future peace talks in Afghanistan.
In the past, Mr Hagel has criticised the idea of a military strike by either the US or Israel against Iran. He has also advocated including Iran on future peace talks in Afghanistan. His remarks in 1998 that a nominee for an ambassadorial post was "openly, aggressively gay" also raised eyebrows. Mr Hagel has since apologised for that comment.
He has been criticised, too, for his remarks in a 2008 book against the Israel lobby in the US capital. Before his hearing, he held one-on-one meetings with 53 senators.
"The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here," Mr Hagel was quoted as saying. "I'm a United States senator. I'm not an Israeli senator." Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican, said on Tuesday she had been satisfied on several issues after meeting with the former senator, although she stopped short of endorsing him.
His remarks in 1998 that a nominee for an ambassadorial post was "openly, aggressively gay" also raised eyebrows. He has since apologised for that comment.
If confirmed, he would be the first enlisted man to run the Pentagon, and the first Vietnam veteran to lead US forces.