So reports the very hooked in Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic magazine:
Not only was SecDef Robert Gates happy with Clapper's appointment, he recommended Clapper after Obama's preferred candidates, Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel, passed on the job. ...
Former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel and Barack Obama have been close for years. Hagel campaigned for Obama.
Hagel has also appeared before numerous Arab-American groups to castigate Israel. Hagel has castigated the so-called Israel Lobby in America. He has soft-pedaled the threat from Iran.
Hagel's animus for Israel is a matter of record. I don't know why Hagel rejected the position. I have speculated in the past that he may be appointed as Secretary of Defense one day (he is a Vietnam vet). Maybe he thought after Chas Freeman went through the grinder , partly because of his anti-Israel bias, he took a pass.
One more sign, as if any more were needed, that Barack Obama has an agenda and it is not one that is helpful or supportive of our friends.
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