His reported comments sound as if he has a good speechwriter. Otherwise, he seems to be in prudent diplomat mode. Heaven knows what he really feels about Israel. I wouldn't trust him any more than Obama.

Hagel must be delusional. The MB runs Egypt. The MB was created to destroy Israel. The USA gave weapons of war to the MB. 1 + 1 = trouble for Israel, no matter what Hagel says. I wonder if he ever looks himself in the mirror and says, "The world must consider me a fool for the things I have to say." If Hagel was a leader, he'd tell all the Arab countries, " Not another penny of assistance, not another weapon of any kind, until you renounce your anti-Israel rhetoric and sign a document that the weapons we do give you will never be used in any way against Israel. If they are, the USA will consider it an attack on itself and will use all force available to neutralize your capabilities. Take it or leave it."

Given the willful blindness by US leaders to what drives most in the region and what's actually happening, it's hardly surprising the Middle East is such a mess. There's more to democracy than elections, and in these Arab countries there's little besides elections. There's no freedom of - or from - religion. Minorities have few rights. Institutions of justice don't exist. And for many, freedom means submission to sharia. Much of Libya is run by jihadist militias. Egypt is an economic basket case, but arming for a future war against ... who, exactly? There's no democracy in Yemen, and Syria could devolve to the kind of sectarian civil war last seen in Lebanon a generation ago.