U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., meets with the TFP editorial board

Video: Sen. Alexander on Iraq war

Five years after launching the war in Iraq, the United States now has a chance to stabilize and secure that war-torn country, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said Thursday.

But he said the prolonged conflict should serve as a lesson for the future about the costs of the U.S. military staying in a country to rebuild government institutions and infrastructure.

“We need to look at nation building and whether that is wise for the United States,” Sen. Alexander told the Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial board. “We’ve only tried it a few times during and after World War II, and the lessons of these efforts is many billions of dollars (spent), many lives (lost) and many years (of military presence). That is what it is going to be in Iraq.”

Sen. Alexander said the U.S. is committed to Iraq and shouldn’t withdraw prematurely. But he criticized those who drew up the Iraq invasion plans for not adequately considering the long-term requirements to rebuild and stabilize the country — and he cautioned future presidents who might consider toppling other governments.

“We should reserve our armed forces to defend our country,” he said. “We want everyone to have freedom. But we can’t send battalions into every country to guarantee that they do.”

Sen. Alexander said he has had differences over the Iraq war with President Bush and Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who is the presumed GOP nominee for president. But Sen. Alexander said Sen. McCain’s approach “is far more realistic than an immediate withdrawal” advocated by the remaining Democratic candidates, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

A recent survey by Republican pollster Whit Ayres indicates many Tennessee voters seem to agree with Sen. Alexander. The telephone poll of more than 600 Tennessee voters in early March showed Sen. McCain leading Sen. Clinton by a 51 percent to 43 percent margin and Sen. McCain leading Sen. Obama by a 53 percent to 36 percent margin.

The same poll also showed more than two-thirds of Tennessee voters gave Sen. Alexander a favorable rating, compared with only 19 percent who disapproved of the way he is doing his job.

Wade Munday, communications director for the Tennessee Democratic Party, said polls taken when the Republicans have picked their nominee but the Democrats have not are “really unfair.”

“We won’t know how they will match up until we know who our nominee is,” he said.

In the U.S. Senate contest in Tennessee, Mr. Munday said either former Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke or former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett “have strong backgrounds and will pose a serious challenge for the senator.”

“We have a lot of enthusiasm from Democrats across the state, primarily because of the Bush administration and Lamar Alexander’s support for most of those policies,” he said.

But Sen. Alexander, who filed his papers in Nashville on Wednesday for a second term in the U.S. Senate, said he already has been endorsed by more than two dozen prominent Democrats and independents, including Chattanoogans Jim Hall, Franklin Haney and Jack Benson.

The 67-year-old Republican said he achieved success as Tennessee’s governor from 1979 to 1987 by working with the then-Democratic-controlled Legislature.

“I’m trying to export that way of doing business to Washington, D.C., which is often hard to do,” he said.

Sen. Alexander, who was elected last year as Senate GOP Caucus chairman, denounced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for blocking Republican amendments to many key bills and thwarting congressional action.

“What Sen. Reid has said is that you Republicans will have no amendments or I, Sen. Reid, will pick all of the amendments that will be allowed, and we’re not going to let him do that,” he said. “It’s his fault, pure and simple, and he shouldn’t do it.”