mcnamara. almost certainly we would not have had or in the way we had the iraq war without defense secretary rumsfeld. so this is a big deal. >> and, bob, you write about that, that obama has found a soulmate on the issue of war. so with hagel as defense secretary, even though he served certainly during vietnam, a republican, what does it mean for american engagement in the world in the next four years? >> that it's going to be done in a much more careful way. clearly in my research on the first book i did on obama in talking with the president about the war in afghanistan, he, like hagel, has an aversion to war. he'll go to war, but in obama's famous nobel prize acceptance speech he made it very clear that war may be necessary, but it's always a manifestation of human folly. >> and the secretary of state john kerry has said they need to get the economic house in order as a first priority for national security. but look at syria and look at iran. where does the secretary -- the secretary of defense nominee and the president stand on iran? >> well, they're going -- you know, the policy is to prevent iran from getting the bomb. that is t