Hagel opposes sending more troops to Baghdad, for Clinton/GHW Bush conf.

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/Reuters: Hagel Opposes Sending More Troops to Baghdad
By REUTERS
Published: August 6, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a frequent Republican critic of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy, said on Sunday it was irresponsible and wrong to send more U.S. troops to Baghdad.

Speaking on the CBS show "Face the Nation,'' Hagel said pouring more U.S. troops into Baghdad would not reverse the rising tide of sectarian killing there.

"Where we go from here ... is a cold, hard assessment that Iraq is not going to turn out the way we were promised it would, and that's a fact, not because I say it -- that's the way it's going,'' he said.

Hagel said there were no longer any good options in Iraq for the United States. He suggested enlisting former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush the elder to convene a regional peace conference.

"It is very wrong to put American troops in a hopeless, winless situation, just keep feeding them in to what's going on. That's irresponsible and that is wrong,'' he said....

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-iraq-usa-hagel.html