Ex-Israeli Intelligence Chief Calls Chuck Hagel, John Kerry Picks ‘Bad Signal’
Israel’s former Military Intelligence chief, Amos Yadlin, says that the appointments of John Kerry as U.S. secretary of state and of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense are “a bad signal for those who believe in” U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Speaking within the context of his previously-held position that Obama is capable of ordering an attack on Iranian nuclear installations as a last resort, Yadlin said that the two nominations may have made his argument weaker. Describing the forum of Obama, Biden, Kerry and Hagel as “the four senators”, Yadlin said that they are “like-mind, very cautious, [and] very supportive of a negotiated agreement.”
Nonetheless, Yadlin said that it is ultimately Obama’s decision alone to make, and that he stands by his assessment that Obama may ultimately decide to attack Iran.
Yadlin, the director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, was speaking on a conference call for American journalists organized by the centrist, peace-supporting Israeli Policy Forum organization.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
