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Joyner on Hagel Hearings (The National Interest)

February 01, 2013

Atlantic Council managing editor James Joyner published a commenary in The National Interest on "The Hagel Hearing Farce."

An excerpt:

The Senate confirmation hearings over Chuck Hagel's nomination to be the next secretary of defense were a classic case of garbage in, garbage out. Sadly, they were par for the course in the American national-security debate.

[...]

In fact, the hearings—like pretty much all congressional hearings—are almost entirely theater with very little substance. The senators have already made up their mind on how they're going to vote. Many of them know Hagel personally; he served with them for eight years. They've already met with the nominee privately and their staffs have already prepared massive briefing books for them on Hagel's previous statements and writings on issues of importance. So, they're not there to have a genuine exchange of information; they're there to score points back home.

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