US Republican lawmakers criticize Bush's Iraq policy

Two US Republican lawmakers have criticized George W. Bush administration's Iraq policy, saying that the White House "disconnected from the reality" and should told the Americans the reality in Iraq, local media reported on Sunday.

"Things (in Iraq) aren't getting better; they're getting worse, " Senator Chuck Hagel said in an interview with US News and World Report, which will be published next week.

"The White House is completely disconnected from reality," the Nebraska Republican said. "It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq."

Hagel's remarks were believed to be the most blunt criticism of Bush's Iraq policy to date from a member of the Republican.

"I got beat up pretty good by my own party and the White House that I was not a loyal Republican," he said, but noting that things are changing today, "More and more of my colleagues up here are concerned," according to the report.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain Sunday called on the Bush administration to tell the Americans the reality in Iraq.

He said in an interview with the NBC's "Meet the Press" that the US people often have been told that "we are at a turning point " in Iraq.

"What the American people should have been told and should be told ... it's long; it's hard; it's tough," McCain said.

"It's going to be at least a couple more years," he added.

Since the outbreak of Iraq war in March 2003, more than 1,700 US soldiers have been killed and nearly 13,000 wounded.

Recent polls showed that support among American citizens for Bush's Iraq policy have slipped to a lowest point and numerous lawmakers, including some Republicans, have accused him of not offering honest assessments about the strength of the insurgency and the slow pace of training Iraq forces.

Source: Xinhua