Are we there yet?

[Jim]

Hagel, who received two Purple Hearts and other military honors for his service in Vietnam, said Sunday the United States needs to develop a strategy to leave Iraq. He told ABC's "This Week" that "stay the course" is not a policy.

 

"By any standard, when you analyze 21/2 years in Iraq ... we're not winning," he said.

 

Other Republican senators appearing on Sunday news shows advocated remaining in Iraq until the mission set by Bush is completed, but they also noted the public is becoming more and more concerned and needs to be reassured.

 

The Army's top general, Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his service is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq -- well over 100,000 -- for four more years as part of preparations for a worst-case scenario.

 

Hagel described the Army contingency plan as "complete folly."

 

"I don't know where he's going to get these troops," the senator said. "There won't be any National Guard left ... no Army Reserve left ... there is no way America is going to have 100,000 troops in Iraq, nor should it, in four years."