i want to read you something from ambassador -- former ambassador ryan crocker.you know, he's been ambassador to lebanon, kuwait, syria, pakistan, iraq, afghanistan. >> right. >> certainly qualified to talk about matters of foreign relations, and he says chuck hagel is a statesman, and america has few of them. he knows the leaders of the world and their issues. at a time when bipartisanship is hard to find in washington, he personifies it. above all, he has an unbending focus on u.s. national security, from his service in vietnam decades ago to his current position on the intelligence advisory council. mr. hagel would run the defense department. it would not run him. what is -- you know as a senator, you say lots of things that make people angry. >> yeah. >> you've done that yourself, and it -- it has a long record. you can go back. >> absolutely. >> but for now and for here why isn't chuck hagel the man? should the president nominate him? >> well, it's a controversial choice. ryan crocker truly is a diplomat in the best sense of the word. i like chuck hagel. he

we had, you know, very brave ambassadors like ryan crocker, one of our very best, who it would be difficult to say, ryan, you can't go do this even though you decided you should do it. what we're trying to do is create a more ongoing discussion between our ambassadors, our bureaus back in the state department who are regional experts, and our security people so that at the very least no ambassador is taking an unnecessary risk, however that is defined. >> with regard to ambassador stevens, certainly it was brave of him to go to benghazi on the date he did. i have to ask you honestly, though, was there anything in his itinerary on the 10th or 11th that required his personal presence? >> he certainly thought so, congressman he did, of course, discuss this with his own security people. we do have regional security officers in these posts. they are the ones that an ambassador will turn. to he believes it was important for him to go to benghazi, there were a number of meetings that he was holding and some public events that he had on his schedule and you know, he was someone who really believed

ryan crocker one of our very best who would be very difficult to say you can't do this even though you've decide you should do it. but what we're trying to do is to create a more ongoing discussion between our ambassadors who are our regional experts and our security people. so that at the very least, no ambassador is taking an unnecessary risk. however that is defined. >> with regard to ambassador stevens, certainly it was brave of him to go to benghazi on the days he did. i have to ask you honestly, though, was there anything in his itinerary on the 10th or 11th that actually specifically required his personal presence? >> well, he certainly thought so, congressman. and he did of course discuss this with his own security people. remember, we do have regional security officers in these posts. they are the ones that an ambassador will turn to. he believed that it was important for him to go to benghazi. there were a number of meetings that he was holding. and some public events that he had on his schedule. and, you know, he was someone who really believed strongly he had to get out there.

so, he as ryan crocker said, the great ambassder and diplomat.ent of defense, the department of defense won't run him. does it mean deeper cuts or smarter cuts? certainly in this budget situation, you're going to have a real hard look at the defense budget and i think he'll bring his business and his toughness to play in this. >> all right, fred kempe great to have you on the show. zbigniew brzezinski and thank you for being nice to dan. >> i was nice to him, too. >> i tried hard. >> i know you tried hard. >> he was actually, just so you know, you were on right before thanksgiving and i joked because my dad was so cutting to you. i said see you at thanksgiving dinner. my dad e-mailed me. he was worried you were coming. >> i actually contemplated coming. >> that would have been fun. >> you would have been cool with that? >> you would have been down with me showing up at thanksgiving. >> thanksgiving spirit would have prevailed. >> 2013, good year for us. >> could i come to festivus at your house? >>> taking on sugar and processed food. our next gu

we had, you know, very brave ambassadors like ryan crocker, one of our very best, who it would be difficult to say, ryan, you can't go do this even though you decided you should do it. what we're trying to do is create a more ongoing discussion between our ambassadors, our bureaus back in the state department who are regional experts, and our security people so that at the very least no ambassador is taking an unnecessary risk, however that is defined. >> with regard to ambassador stevens, certainly it was brave of him to go to benghazi on the date he did. i have to ask you honestly, though, was there anything in his itinerary on the 10th or 11th that required his personal presence? >> he certainly thought so, congressman he did, of course, discuss this with his own security people. we do have regional security officers in these posts. they are the ones that an ambassador will turn. to he believes it was important for him to go to benghazi, there were a number of meetings that he was holding and some public events that he had on his schedule and you know, he was someone who really believed

we had coming you know, very brave ambassadors, like ryan crocker, one of our very best who it would be very difficult to say you can't do this even though you decided you should do it. but what we are trying to do is create a more ongoing discussion between our ambassadors, our bureau back in the state department at our regional experts and our security people so that at the very least, no one ambassador is taking an unnecessary risk however that is the kind. >> with regards to the ambassador stevens, certainly it was brave of him to go to benghazi on the days he did. i have to ask you honestly though, was their anything on the itinerary on the 11th that actually specifically required his personal presence? >> he certainly thought so, congressman, and he did of course discuss this with his own security people but we do have regional security officers in these posts. they are the ones and ambassador will return to. he believes it was important for him to go to benghazi. there were a number of meetings that he was holding in some public events that he had on his schedule, and he was s