David Edwards and Mike Sheehan
Raw Story
Thursday, January 18, 2007 

On CNN's 'Situation Room,' Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), who has joined key Democratic senators on a resolution to stop the Iraq troop 'surge' being pushed by the Bush administration, tells host Wolf Blitzer that "a bipartisan consensus" was needed for Iraq policy to succeed. The bill he co-sponsored was called a "slap at the president" by Blitzer.

"The best interests of our country" are not served by American escalation in Iraq, Hagel explained. He said that America cannot just pull out, and "a few more years" would be required before the US withdrew. But he added that more Americans must not be "thrown in" to Iraq, and the Iraqis should deal with the problem themselves.

He also sought to remind the president that the Congress is a co-equal branch of government, "this is not a monarchy," and that on "November 7th, the people changed the management" in Congress. The bill Hagel was now getting behind "is just the beginning," the Vietnam Veteran senator pledged.

A clip of the program is available below.