Even as the president cast the nominations of Hagel and his slightly less controversial new CIA director nominee John Brennan as a simple remaking of military and spy operations in the image of their agencies, the men did speak for themselves. After the former Nebraska senator was formally nominated Monday, the Lincoln Journal Star posted an interview in which Hagel responded to his critics. Now he has "an opportunity to set the record straight," Hagel said, after "hanging out there in no-man's land unable to respond to charges, falsehoods and distortions." Hagel addressed criticism that he opposed signing a letter urging the E.U. to label Hezbollah a terror group and that he opposed sanctions on Iran. "I didn't sign on to certain resolutions and letters because they were counter-productive and didn't solve a problem," Hagel said. "I have not supported unilateral sanctions because when it is us alone they don't work and they just isolate the United States."

Some writers have suggested that the Republican opposition to Hagel is more about the Iraq war than Israel. Hagel sharply criticized his own party as the war got worse. At The Daily Beast, Peter Beinart argued, "At the heart of the opposition to Hagel is the fear that he will do what Republicans have thus far largely prevented: bring America’s experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan into the Iran debate." Andrew Sullivan says Hagel's "core qualification" is that "Unlike so many of the lemmings and partisans of Washington DC, Hagel actually called out the catastrophe of the Iraq War as it happened." But both Obama — and, in a press conference following the official nomination, press secretary Jay Carney — only hinted at the Iraq angle, saying Hagel fought and bled for his country in Vietnam. Obama insisted that Hagel knows well the sacrifices troops make when we go to war, and that war is "something we only do when it's absolutely necessary." It's the Iraq-era chickenhawk argument — that those who pushed us into war opted not to serve — made a little more politely.

Given the difficulty in Senate scheduling, confirmation hearings may not begin for several weeks, with Secretary of State nominee John Kerry expected to be first on the list.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.