New U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, whom Republican critics have
sought to portray as anti-Israel, will meet Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak at the Pentagon on Tuesday for his first face-to-face visit
with a foreign counterpart.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said the talks between the U.S. and Israeli defense chiefs would include
discussions on Iran, but did not offer details.
“The secretary is honored that Minister Barak will be
the first foreign counterpart that he will host at the Pentagon,” the
official said, adding the two had known each other for more than a
decade.
Barak’s visit to the Pentagon coincides with a
conference from Sunday to Tuesday of the leading U.S. pro-Israel
lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC,
at which Barak, a former Israeli prime minister, is scheduled to speak.
Hagel was put on the defensive during his Senate
confirmation hearing for once accusing a “Jewish lobby” of intimidating
people in Washington, comments the former two-term Republican senator
has repeatedly said he regretted.
Hagel, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, has spoken
strongly about America’s close defense ties with Israel and the need to
prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear
program is entirely peaceful.
http://forward.com/articles/172164/hagel-to-meet-israeli-defense-minister-barak-at-pe/
Friday 1 March 2013
Hagel To Meet Israeli Defense Minister Barak at Pentagon
Posted @ 18:00
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