[Mb-civic] "We are destroying the finest military in the history of mankind" Sen. Chuck Hagel

[Jef Bek]

Hagel sounds alarm over Iraq

 BY JAKE THOMPSON
 WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

 GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - More than 200 Nebraska American Legion members, who
have seen war and conflict themselves, fell quiet here Saturday as Sen.
Chuck Hagel bluntly explained why he believes that the United States is
losing the war in Iraq.

Sen. Chuck Hagel addresses more than 200 Nebraska American Legion members in
Grand Island on Saturday.

 It took 20 minutes, but it boiled down to this:

 The Bush team sent in too few troops to fight the war leading to today's
chaos and rising deaths of Americans and Iraqis. Terrorists are "pouring in"
to Iraq.

 Basic living standards are worse than a year ago in Iraq. Civil war is
perilously close to erupting there. Allies aren't helping much. The American
public is losing its trust in President Bush's handling of the conflict.

 And Hagel's deep fear is that it will all plunge into another Vietnam
debacle, prompting Congress to force another abrupt pullout as it did in
1975.

 "What we don't want to happen is for this to end up another Vietnam," Hagel
told the legionnaires, "because the consequences would be catastrophic."

It would be far worse than Vietnam, says Hagel, a twice-wounded veteran of
that conflict, which killed 58,000 Americans.

This is an important story. I've included the rest of it in the extended
entry.
    ::
   

 Failure in Iraq could lead to many more American deaths, disrupt U.S. oil
supplies, damage the Middle East peace effort, spread terrorism and harm
America's stature worldwide, Hagel said.

 That's what keeps him on edge these days.

 That's why he is again the most outspoken Republican in Congress about
Iraq. His view that America is losing in Iraq, which first aired in a
newsmagazine last week, prompted rebukes from conservatives such as talk
show host Rush Limbaugh, concerns from others in his party and praise from
anti-war advocates on the Internet.

 But Saturday, he was unrepentant.

 "The point is, we're going to have to make some changes or we will lose, we
will lose in Iraq," he told the legionnaires.

 At the same time, he said, he wants President Bush to win, and he believes
that the United States cannot pull out anytime soon.

 The legionnaires gave him a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Carl
Marks of Omaha, a Korean War veteran, said: "It sounds like he's conflicted
. . . like a lot of us."

 Bennie Navratil of Hallam, Neb., whose son left last week for military duty
in Afghanistan, said, "I feel he said the right thing: that we can't pull
out and something's got to change."

 Aboard a plane back to Omaha, Hagel was asked whether he thought Bush was
aware that adjustments might be needed in his Iraq policy.

 "I don't know," Hagel said.

 The whole Iraqi situation makes him sick to his stomach, he said.

 "It has tormented me, torn me more than any one thing," he said with a grim
look on his face. "To see what these guys in Iraq are having to go through
and knowing what I know here: that we didn't prepare for it, we didn't
understand what we were getting into. And to put those guys in those
positions, it makes me so angry."

 He lays part of the blame on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who argued
before the war that he needed only 150,000 American troops in Iraq. That
caused more casualties than were needed, Hagel said.

 "We still don't have enough troops," he said. "We should have had double or
triple the number."

 It has led to a bleak situation, Hagel said:

 Insurgent attacks are more frequent than a year ago. Bombs used by
insurgents are growing more deadly, piercing America's best protective
clothing and equipment. Oil production is down. Electricity is less
available than a year ago. Economic development is lagging. Ninety percent
of the humanitarian and economic aid pledged by 60 nations hasn't reached
Iraq because of the continuing violence. Only one Middle Eastern country has
an ambassador in Iraq.

 Bush has said America is fighting in Iraq with a "coalition of the
willing," allies who have committed a relatively small number of troops and
aid.

 Hagel scoffed at that idea. "It's a joke to say there's a coalition of the
willing," he said, adding that many are pulling out and the United States is
fronting the bills for those who remain.

 Meanwhile, U.S. troops are under severe strain. Troops are stationed in
more than 100 countries, and their rapid tempo of deployments with little
time off leaves them fatigued and in danger of making mistakes.

 "We are destroying the finest military in the history of mankind, and the
(National) Guard, too," he said. "We're stretching our Army to the breaking
point."

 Public pronouncements from the Bush administration also have gotten under
Hagel's skin. Vice President Dick Cheney's recent comments that the
insurgents in Iraq are in "the last throes" echo a refrain of the Vietnam
era, he said.

 Back then, officials saw "the light at the end of the tunnel" in Vietnam,
Hagel said.

 Toting up all those points, he said, leads him to conclude that the United
States is losing in Iraq.

 "That doesn't mean we have to lose," he said.

 In his speech and in an interview, Hagel offered some ideas that he thinks
could help in Iraq:

 U.S. troops and others could work harder to train local militias in small
Iraqi towns to help identify and take on insurgents. Allies who don't want
to enter Iraq could help patrol its borders, blocking terrorists from
entering the war-torn country. The training of Iraq's military and military
police should be accelerated immediately.

 Middle Eastern nations should become more engaged, he said, but it doesn't
help when administration officials criticize Egypt and Saudi Arabia for not
moving quickly enough toward democratic practices.

 Hagel said he shaped his views after many talks recently with senior U.S.
military officials; foreign policy experts; Brent Scowcroft, who was the
first President Bush's national security adviser; and others. He plans to
share his views with the current president and his team and says he feels an
urgency he hopes they will share.

 The United States has only about six more months to begin to turn things
around in Iraq, he said.

 "I believe that there can be a good outcome in Iraq," he said. "I also
believe there could be a very bad outcome for Iraq. I believe we have a very
limited time for that good outcome."