Hagel calls for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq

From the Lincoln Journal-Star:

The United States needs to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within the next six months, Sen. Chuck Hagel said Thursday, rather than ratcheting up its military commitment now.

With Iraq exploding in sectarian violence and “moving closer and closer to a straight-out civil war,” Hagel said, the Bush administration’s decision to transfer nearly 5,000 additional U.S. troops into Baghdad is “only going to make it worse for us.”

In the end, he said, “feed(ing) more American troop fodder into the fight” could result in “even a worse defeat.”

Of course, Hagel's already been excommunicated by the Bushies and their supporters (that is, whatever supporters they have left), and these comments, in their view, will just drive him further into the Murtha camp. One wonders when the swift-boating will start.

Hagel has long been a critic of the conduct of the Iraq War. He's also been a critic of the White House's attacks on the critics of the Iraq War (see here) and has likened Iraq to Vietnam (see here). He'll now be a bigger target himself.

And yet -- Hagel's a smart guy and ought to be taken seriously. Is he not right about this?