Former Sen. Chuck Hagel Takes Foreign Policy Stage

President Barack Obama Wednesday appointed former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to co-chair the Intelligence Advisory Board, which advises the president on the legality and quality of intelligence.

"Chuck understands that accurate and timely intelligence is essential for effective foreign policy," Obama said in a Cabinet Room briefing.

Hagel has become controversial for calling on the U.S. to hold a more neutral approach in the Arab-Israeli conflict, which some see as an anti-Israel stance.

He gave the keynote address Tuesday night at the first gala dinner of J Street, a progressive Jewish lobbying firm that calls on the U.S. to pressure both Israelis and Palestinians to accept a two-state solution, saying a peaceful end to the conflict is key to ensuring security for U.S. and Israel.

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is central, not peripheral, to U.S. vital security interests in combating terrorism," said Hagel.

The former GOP senator from Nebraska and one-time presidential hopeful addressed the role the U.S. should play in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict and the consequences to the U.S.

"Only the Israelis and Arabs can decide [what to compromise]," he said. "But what we can do is facilitate a peace process," although he did not specify exactly what steps the U.S. should take.

He advocated a two-state resolution as the most likely plan to gain support among Arab countries.

Hagel also pressed the importance of strong relations with Arab countries. "U.S. has a long and special relation with Israel, but it must not come at the expense of our Arab relationships," he said. "That is a false choice and not in the interest of Israel or the United States."

Achieving peace also would help fight terrorism because terrorists use the Arab-Israeli conflict as a recruiting tool, and they gain power the longer it lasts, he said.

Hagel initially supported military action against Iraq but later became one of the few Republican senators to staunchly oppose the war during the Bush administration.