Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, rumored to be incontention for the job of defense secretary, has a long recordof opposing sanctions on countries including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya,and Cuba.

Hagel, who serves as co-chair of President Barack Obama's intelligence advisoryboard, throughout his career has publicly supported the idea of engaging withrogue regimes and focusing on diplomacy before punitive measures. While inCongress, he voted against several sanctions measures and argued vociferouslyagainst their effectiveness.

"Engagement is not appeasement. Diplomacy is notappeasement. Great nations engage. Powerful nations must be the adults in worldaffairs. Anything less will result in disastrous, useless, preventable globalconflict," Hagelsaidin a Brookings Institution speech in 2008.

In 2008, Hagel wasblamed for blocking an Iran sanctions bill that SenateDemocrats supported. That same year, hegave a speech calling for the opening of a U.S.diplomatic post in Tehran. As early as 2001, Hagel said that sanctions on Iranand Libya were ineffective. He was one of only two senators that year to voteagainst renewal of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, alongwith Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN).

In his 2008 book, America: Our Next Chapter, Hagel wrote, "America's refusal to recognize Iran's status as a legitimate power doesnot decrease Iran's influence, but rather increases it."

That same year, Hagelpraised the George W. Bush administration's deal with North Korea, which included lifting some sanctions on Pyongyangand removing North Korea from the State Department's list of states thatsponsor terrorism in exchange for greater transparency into North Korea'snuclear program. North Korea later reneged on its side of that bargain.

"Thelast thing we want to do or should do in my opinion is try to isolate NorthKorea," Hagelsaidin 2003. "They are very dangerous, they're unpredictable, and they have a pastbehavior pattern that's a bit erratic. That is not good news for any of us. SoI think we keep the emotions down and keep working the channels."

On Syria, Hagel was a longtime supporter ofengagement with the regime of President Basharal-Assad and his father before him, Hafezal-Assad. Aftermeeting with Assad the elder in 1998, Hagel said, "Peacecomes through dealing with people. Peace doesn't come at the end of a bayonetor the end of a gun."

In 2008, Hagel co-authored a Wall Street Journal op-edwith prospective secretary of state nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), entitled, "It's time to talk to Syria."

"Syria's leaders have always made cold calculationsin the name of self-preservation, and history shows that intensive diplomacycan pay off," Hagel and Kerry wrote.

Hagel has long been a critic of the multi-decade U.S.embargo on Cuba. He has said the trade embargo on Cuba "isolates us, not Cuba,"and voted several times to ease parts of it.

"On Cuba, I've said that we have an outdated,unrealistic, irrelevant policy," hesaidin 2008. "It's always been nonsensical to me about this argument, 'Well, it's acommunist country, it's a communist regime.' What do people think Vietnam is?Or the People's Republic of China? Both those countries are WTO members. Wetrade with them. We have relations. Great powers engage...  Great powers are not afraid. Great powerstrade."

That same year, Hagel signed onto aletter to Secretary State Condoleezza Rice urging her to alter U.S.-Cuba policy. In 2002,Hagel called then leader Fidel Castro a "toothless old dinosaur" and said heagreed with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter on Cuba.

"What Jimmy Carter's saying ... is exactly right:Our 40-year policy toward Cuba is senseless," Hagel said.

In 2000, Hagel fought against legislation that wouldhave granted citizenship to Cuban refugee ElianGonzales.