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Hagel, Snowe Jump Ship

Number of GOP defectors backing withdrawal plan climbs to 3

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 11, 2007 4:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – Two more Republican senators crossed party lines today to back legislation that calls for the US to start pulling out of Iraq within 4 months and withdraw by April. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Maine's Olympia Snowe of Maine signed on on as co-sponsors of the measure, along with Oregon's Gordon Smith and Democrats Carl Levin and Jack Reed.

Hagel, a potential presidential candidate, climbed aboard when his proposal to enlist the UN's assistance was folded into the proposal. Calling on Congress to "address the reality," the moderate Snowe said the "current strategy is unacceptable." The legislation calls for the removal of most US troops by next spring and allows a smaller force to remain to aid counterterrorism efforts.

Barbara Mikulski Hosts Senate Women Power Workshop
Barbara Mikulski Hosts Senate Women Power Workshop   (Getty Images)
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., right, listens as Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. discuss Hagel's amendment to the defense bill, Wednesday, July 11, 2007, on Capitol Hill in Washington.  (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., right, listens as Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. discuss Hagel's amendment to the defense bill, Wednesday, July 11, 2007, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria...   (Associated Press)
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb, speaks during a town hall meeting on national security and Iraq on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, July 3, 2007. Hagel, who is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a frequent critic of the Iraq war. (AP...
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb, speaks during a town hall meeting on national security and Iraq on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, July 3, 2007. Hagel, who is a senior member...   (Associated Press)
Congress Debates Bush Administrations Iraq Strategy
Congress Debates Bush Administrations Iraq Strategy   (Getty Images)
Sen. Olympia Snowe attends the Directors Guild of America Honors Gala on Sunday, November 16, 2003, in New York City.
Sen. Olympia Snowe attends the Directors Guild of America Honors Gala on Sunday, November 16, 2003, in New York City.   (KRT Photos)
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