Hagel's (R-Ne) year in Vietnam shaped feelings on Iraq (OWH)

[Omaha Steve]

Free reg req: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2317118

Published Sunday
January 21, 2007

Hagel's year in Vietnam shaped feelings on Iraq

BY JAKE THOMPSON

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

WASHINGTON - When he sees images of carnage and combat beaming from Iraq, Chuck Hagel thinks back.

He remembers himself as a 21-year-old Army grunt in the jungles of Vietnam nearly four decades ago.

He remembers terrifying patrols with his brother, Tom; buddies dying before their eyes; and how awful war can be.

He remembers Congress' silence about the troop buildup; how bitterly divided America became; how it all ended in a debacle in 1975.

He doesn't want history to repeat itself.

"I'll be damned if I'm going to stand there and accept the status quo and let it all happen again," he said in an interview.

"That is morally wrong. Our country deserves better - especially the men and women at the bottom who are asked to fight and die."

With a conviction fueled by his own experiences in the Vietnam War, Hagel co-sponsored a nonbinding resolution that would put Congress on record opposing President Bush's new strategy to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq. It's a bold affront to the Republican president by a member of his own party.



FULL stroy at link.

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