Sen. Hagel told Russert that things are much worse off in the Middle East now and it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Just someone honest and willing to publicly say it.

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transcript

Russert: You said last week the president should negotiate directly with Iran. Why?

Hagel: I think you could make a pretty strong case that things are worse off in the Middle East today than they were three years ago. By measurement of Iraq, by Iran, by the Palestinian-Israeli issue, what’s going on in Egypt. And, I think the United States must use its force of diplomacy to engage Iran.

I'm glad to see he's interested in diplomacy when it comes to Iran.

TP posts a Newsweek article that supports this claim.