Appearing on ABCs This Week, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) sharply criticized President Bushs proposal, expected to be announced Monday, of sending thousands of National Guard troops to police the southern U.S. border. Hagel said flatly, thats not the role of our national guard. He added that weve got National Guard members in their second, third and fourth tours in Iraq and stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen in modern times.
STEPHANOPOULOS: [Gov. Schwarzenegger is] against sending the National Guard. Where do you stand?
HAGEL: Well, I want to listen to the details and I want to listen to the President. But I would say this: I think we have to be very careful here. Thats not the role of our military. Thats not the role of our national guard. Lets approach this in a long-term way where we fix the problem. Thats a short-term fix and Im not sure its a very wise fix. Lets start with the fact of whether we even have the capacity. What the Governors talking about. Weve got 75% of all the equipment of National Guard all across this country is in Iraq. Weve got National Guard members in their second, third and fourth tours in Iraq. We have stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen it in modern times. What in the world are we talking about here, sending a National Guard that we may not have any capacity to send down to protect our borders. Thats not their role. Ill listen to the President but I have a lot of questions about this. Im skeptical.