Hagel: ‘The Time For More Troops Is Past,’ McCain’s Plan Is ‘Not Realistic,’ ‘The Wrong Approach’

[NNN0LHI]

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/21/hagel-troops/

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), a prominent conservative member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said today on MSNBC that Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) plan to send 20,000 more troops to Iraq is “not realistic.”

“The time for more troops is past,” he said. “We don’t want to put more troops in now. Even if we had them, that’s the wrong approach.” Watch it:

Full transcript:

MITCHELL: Let’s talk a bit about some of the plans that the Pentagon is supposedly considering, first of all, sending 20,000 more troops into Iraq, a short-term surge, an effort to try to stabilize Baghdad. Is that realistic? And is that cover for more quickly phasing out and withdrawing?

HAGEL: Andrea, it is not realistic. General Abizaid noted that when he was here last week before the Senate Armed Services Committee. We don’t have the troops. That’s number one.

Number two, even if we did, it’s the wrong approach. The time for more troops is past.

We’ve been in Iraq now almost four years. We went in completely undermanned, under-managed. We didn’t understand what we were getting into. We didn’t have the plans. We should have gone in with three times the troops that we had.

[tridim]

1. Well, someone's certainly running for President. n/t

[Earth_First]

3. Can we count the vote on HIS machines? n/t

[DianeG5385]

4. As far as I'm concerned, he's been honest on the war from day one

I don't know what his other positions are but on the war we're singing the same tune. I like the sense that he's not BSing and I hope someone like Clark will survive to run for the Dems and we get an honest debate for the presidency for once. One can only hope!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. honest would mean admitting that we never should have gone in at all

because it was based on lies.

oh well.

[David Zephyr]

10. Hagle is the single Republican that I respect.

That's about it.

[joemurphy]

2. He's right. n/t

[Perky]

5. I am not about to start handicapping the GOP

But Allen is Toast.

McCain is going to be attacked ALOT by alot of folks on the right.

Rudy Can't win in the south and neither can Romney.

Hegel actually worries me a bit because he seems earnest and is no bushbot.

But he also lacks Charisma and he is a Senator. If the GOP starts looking for a consensus candidate....he might be the guy.

[BuyingThyme]

6. Hagel is what McCain pretends to be.

[David Dunham]

8. Hagel would be the strongest GOP candidate in the general election.

[babylonsister]

9. I like him a helluva lot more than McCain, not that I'd vote for him. nt

[Boo Boo]

11. Clark did one of these Jefferson-Jackson dinners before the election

out in Santa Barbara; he brought up McCain's "plan." I won't remember his exact retort, but it was very close to: "John McCain doesn't have clue what he's talking about!"

The truth hurts.