Chuck Hagel Quotes

We live in a world of absolute immediacy. It is an interconnected, combustible world, where technology and many other actions have given nonstate actors a reach, into countries and societies, for both good and evil, that we have never seen before. So it isn't a matter of just state versus state challenges or conflict. The bigger problem is nonstate actors.

Alliances and international organizations should be understood as opportunities for leadership and a means to expand our influence, not as constraints on our power.

You can't just drop the 82nd Airborne into Baghdad and it will all be over.

I'm a supporter of Israel, always have been.

No one individual vote, no one individual quote or no one individual statement defines me, my beliefs, or my record.

Foreign policy will require a strategic agility that, whenever possible, gets ahead of problems, strengthens U.S. security and alliances, and promotes American interests and credibility.

We can't ... take that piece of reality in this business and set that aside and say, well, that doesn't count. And the Republicans on my side understand that the majority is in fact up for grabs next year. So there's not a decision made up here that doesn't have that factor coursing through that current.

Closing Guantanamo Bay is not a military solution. The closing of that prison, which I support, I supported it when I was in the Senate, requires more than just a military dimension.

The Israeli people must be free to live in peace and security.

Engagement is not appeasement. Engagement is not surrender.

I would not trade America's position in the world - our ledger, our debts and assets - for any country in the world. There isn't a country in the world even close to America.

(The) chain of command has failed over the years, obviously, for a lot of reasons.

And I want every one of you, every one of us, 100 senators to look in that camera, and you tell your people back home what you think. Don't hide anymore; none of us. That is the essence of our responsibility. And if we're not willing to do it, we're not worthy to be seated right here. We fail our country. If we don't debate this, if we don't debate this, we are not worthy of our country. We fail our country.

Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq.

Imposing democracy through force is a roll of the dice.

I’m a United States senator. I’m not an Israeli senator.

History has shown that a country most effectively speaks with one voice. When nationally elected officials work together, build consensus, and provide leadership, the American people will follow.

I don't get into the book-telling business of conversations I have with the president. That's not my style, and I don't think that's a responsible thing to do.

[Sheehan] deserves some consideration, and I think that should have been done right from the beginning.

There's always a balance, I think, any administration has to find in not just the military but in any agency of government.

It's critically important that we have governments to work with, that we have entities to work with. President Hadi has been a good partner in that, and we would hope that the next set of leaders that govern Yemen will also take the same approach to cooperation with the United States.

The Bush administration must understand that each American has a right to question our policies in Iraq and elsewhere, and should not be demonized or condemned for disagreeing with them. Suggesting that to challenge and criticize policy is undermining and hurting our troops is not democratic, nor what this country has stood for over 200 years.

This is a complicated time to govern in the world today because of so much going on and it's coming at us at such an unprecedented rate.

You can have all the capabilities; if you don't have the quality people, you don't have much.

I don't think it's a matter of going back and having a review of our process. Our process is about as thorough as there can be. Is it imperfect? Yes. Is there risk? Yes, but we start with the fact that we have an American that's being held hostage and that American's life is in danger and that's where we start. And then we proceed from there.

No border that touches Israel is always secure.

Desperate men do desperate things when you take hope away. And that's where the Palestinians are today.

We live in a world where there are dangerous people, there are bad people.

The United Nations has a critical role to play in promoting stability, security, democracy, human rights, and economic development. The UN is as relevant today as at any time in its history, but it needs reform.

We must prepare for everything.

All I can do is present what I think is in the best interest of this country and how I can best serve this country and the president of the United States. And I feel very good about that opportunity I've had.

Politics or ideology must not get in the way of sound planning.

Iraq was a war of choice, like Vietnam.

Bogging down large armies in historically complex, dangerous areas ends in disaster.

I have said many times that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism.

Assad must go. He's lost the legitimacy to govern.

I am fully supportive of 'open service' and committed to LGBT military families.

I have never believed you go to war in Iraq, you go to war in Afghanistan, and believe that you can deal with those battlefields, those countries, in microcosms, or narrow channels.

Peace comes through dealing with people. Peace doesn't come at the end of a bayonet or the end of a gun.

Well, let's go back to the original intent of Social Security. It is an insurance contract.

I'm not sure leaders listen enough, especially to their people. And I've always thought in everything I've tried to do in my life, in the jobs I've had, is that if we can turn our transmitters off and our receivers on more often, we're better leaders and we know more of what is going on and therefore we can lead more effectively.

This is eventually how Syria will be resolved - through a political settlement.

My overall worldview has never changed: that America has and must maintain the strongest military in the world, that we must lead the international community to confront threats and challenges together, and that we must use all tools of American power to protect our citizens and our interests.

This current government in Iraq has never fulfilled the commitments it made to form a unity government with the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shia. We have worked hard with them within the confines of our ability to do that but we can't dictate to them.

Foreign policy is all about a universe of bad decisions, imperfect decisions; every situation is different. The dynamics, the atmospherics, the people, the pressures, the geopolitical realities shift.

If we have to continue to live under sequestration, it will have a maximum impact on our ability to fulfill the president's strategic guidance. We can't do it all. It's as simple as that, with the limitations of the budget as severe as they are. These deep, abrupt cuts have forced us to make decisions that are not in the interest of America.

Palestinians caged up like animals.

If America is to succeed in responding to these 21st Century challenges, our political system cannot continue to bog down in the mire of partisan gamesmanship.