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.
Chuck Hagel[Sheehan] deserves some consideration, and I think that should have been done right from the beginning.
Chuck HagelI 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.
Chuck HagelThere has to be a reason and objective (to air strikes). What does it do to move the effort down the road for a political conversation?
Chuck HagelI 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.
Chuck Hagel