By TIM MAK | 1/31/13 1:26 PM EST
Chuck Hagel stumbled (click here) Thursday during questioning on Iran, inadvertently saying the Obama administration supports “containment” and calling the country an “elected legitimate government.”
"I support the president's strong position on containment, as I have said," the former Republican senator from Nebraska told the Senate Armed Services Committee considering his nomination for Defense secretary....
He didn't stumble. He knows the policies. The answers to the questions by the Senate Committee are not yes and no answers. Because they aren't yes or no answers that is stumbling? That is nonsense.
The Obama administration supports preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, rather than containing it.
Playing with semantics. Containment IS preventing. I don't care if it was Hillary, okay? People are playing with words.
“As you know, our policy is prevention, not containment,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Fox News on Tuesday. “We have, through the hard work we’ve undertaken with the international community, imposed the toughest set of sanctions — international and bilateral — on any country.
The question is WHAT IS PREVENTING? War? Bombs? What does preventing mean? Oh, it might mean containment, gee whiz.”
"I misspoke and said I supported the president's position on containment. If I said that, I meant to say we don't have a position on containment," Hagel said.
Lawyers. He said President Obama instead of WE (meaning the USA). Lawyers, the pickers of nits. We do or we don't is not the issue, the issue is will he go to war if containment fails. Sanctions are containment, I hate to tell the Senate Committee that.
"We do have a position on containment, and that is we do not favor containment," Levin said. "I just wanted to clarify the clarify."
Prevention is a bullshit word. Either there is containment of the building of the nuclear capacity through diplomatic engagement or there is bombing. I don't care if Levin has trouble with CONTAINMENT. The current strategy of the USA is containment. Prevention is not a strategy. "Everything is on the table." Containment is not prevention? The USA has containment and if that is unsuccessful then there is a military solution. There is prevention! It is black and white and the use of the word prevention is a nice sounding word for bombing and/or boots on the ground.
Using the word prevention is a methodology to lie to the American people.
It is very interesting what comes out in these hearings, isn't it? The word prevention is being used to temper the dialogue with Neocons, like McCain with the public. Oh, McCain is such a nice old guy, isn't he, he wants to prevent the nuclear capacity of Iran. Forbid the public should know he is not preventing squat, he is 'Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.'
Prevention is a political word to work around the question, "Will and when will the USA bomb Iran's nuclear facility?" It is nonsense and if I were Chuck Hagel and I was picked on about the word prevention I would be as confused as he was.
There is no such thing as prevention unless you get a flu shot!
The Obama administration supports preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, rather than containing it.
Playing with semantics. Containment IS preventing. I don't care if it was Hillary, okay? People are playing with words.
“As you know, our policy is prevention, not containment,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Fox News on Tuesday. “We have, through the hard work we’ve undertaken with the international community, imposed the toughest set of sanctions — international and bilateral — on any country.
The question is WHAT IS PREVENTING? War? Bombs? What does preventing mean? Oh, it might mean containment, gee whiz.”
"I misspoke and said I supported the president's position on containment. If I said that, I meant to say we don't have a position on containment," Hagel said.
Lawyers. He said President Obama instead of WE (meaning the USA). Lawyers, the pickers of nits. We do or we don't is not the issue, the issue is will he go to war if containment fails. Sanctions are containment, I hate to tell the Senate Committee that.
"We do have a position on containment, and that is we do not favor containment," Levin said. "I just wanted to clarify the clarify."
Prevention is a bullshit word. Either there is containment of the building of the nuclear capacity through diplomatic engagement or there is bombing. I don't care if Levin has trouble with CONTAINMENT. The current strategy of the USA is containment. Prevention is not a strategy. "Everything is on the table." Containment is not prevention? The USA has containment and if that is unsuccessful then there is a military solution. There is prevention! It is black and white and the use of the word prevention is a nice sounding word for bombing and/or boots on the ground.
Using the word prevention is a methodology to lie to the American people.
It is very interesting what comes out in these hearings, isn't it? The word prevention is being used to temper the dialogue with Neocons, like McCain with the public. Oh, McCain is such a nice old guy, isn't he, he wants to prevent the nuclear capacity of Iran. Forbid the public should know he is not preventing squat, he is 'Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.'
Prevention is a political word to work around the question, "Will and when will the USA bomb Iran's nuclear facility?" It is nonsense and if I were Chuck Hagel and I was picked on about the word prevention I would be as confused as he was.
There is no such thing as prevention unless you get a flu shot!
