Former Republican Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, waves as he arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, left, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, greets former Georgia Sin. Max Cleland, center, after arriving on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Republican Chuck Hagel, a former two-term senator and President Obama's choice to lead the Pentagon, arrives at the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. Former committee chairman, Democrat Sam Nunn, left, introduced Hagel. If confirmed, Hagel, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, would be the first enlisted man to serve as defense secretary. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s nominee for defense secretary on Thursday defended his views of the military and global threats in a combative confirmation hearing, pushing back against criticism of his past statements on Israel, Iran, Iraq and nuclear weapons. Chuck Hagel told senators …
