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Why they love Chuck Hagel in Omaha

Senator Chuck Hagel is a true Republican maverick, often out of sync with the base of his party on foreign policy. But they keep electing the guy in Nebraska, in part because he makes gestures like this:  Chuck Hagel, the most outspoken dissident among the Republicans, sent his apologies to Mr Kissinger, explaining that his ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
604344_hagel_nebraska_05.jpg
604344_hagel_nebraska_05.jpg

Senator Chuck Hagel is a true Republican maverick, often out of sync with the base of his party on foreign policy. But they keep electing the guy in Nebraska, in part because he makes gestures like this: 

Senator Chuck Hagel is a true Republican maverick, often out of sync with the base of his party on foreign policy. But they keep electing the guy in Nebraska, in part because he makes gestures like this: 

Chuck Hagel, the most outspoken dissident among the Republicans, sent his apologies to Mr Kissinger, explaining that his absence from the committee hearing was because he wanted to attend the funeral of a US lieutenant killed in Iraq.

Forgoing the paneled confines of Capitol Hill for a trip to tiny Falls City, Nebraska, for the slain soldier’s funeral was a subtle, but nonetheless pointed statement on Kissinger’s attempt to buck up Republican sentiment on Iraq.

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

Read More On Iraq | Politics | U.S. Congress

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