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Hagel: Change in Iraq no 'cakewalk'Nebraska Republicans cites "costs and commitment'
By Sean Loughlin (CNN Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, said Monday Iraq would be better off without Saddam Hussein, but he warned that displacing the Iraqi leader, as sought by the Bush administration, would not come easily nor cheaply. "Regime change in Iraq should not be considered as either a military 'cakewalk' or nation-building on the cheap," Hagel said in a speech before the Eisenhower Institute, a think tank. "We must plan for and think through the day-after scenarios, the costs and commitment to rebuilding Iraq's political culture and economy." Hagel, a Vietnam veteran who has been a GOP voice of caution on the debate over what to do about Iraq, said Iraq must be viewed in the context of other challenges in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "If we are serious about regime change in Iraq, it should be the cutting edge of an American policy for peaceful change and democratic reform in the Middle East," Hagel said. Hagel, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, did not explicitly criticize the Bush administration's approach, but he challenged the notion that the United States could act alone against Iraq. "Attempting to re-build Iraq with only a Western hand would be an enormous mistake," Hagel said, citing the need for "substantial assistance from our allies, including our Arab allies.". Hagel's speech is the latest by a series of lawmakers who have weighed in on what the United States should do about Iraq, which the U.S. and British governments accuse of developing weapons of mass destruction. Last week, Democrats, including Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and former Vice President Al Gore, challenged the Bush's administration's request that Congress pass a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. The men said the White House had failed to make the case that a war against Iraq is justified. The administration, however, has maintained that Saddam poses a threat to world peace and, recently, administration officials have linked Saddam to al Qaeda terrorists. The Senate is expected to begin its debate on the resolution this week.
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