Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has, for the time being, rejected talk of sending more US troops into Iraq.
Appearing on this week's episode of Face the Nation, Powell told host Bob Schieffer that he agreed with the Baker-Hamilton report assessment that the situation in Iraq is "grave and deteriorating."
But the former Secretary also expressed skepticism about a plan currently being floated to send more troops into troubled areas of Iraq, stating that he is "not persuaded that another surge of troops into Baghdad for the purpose of suppressing this communitarian violence or civil war will work."
Powell also indicated he's unclear that a detailed plan actually exists, stating that clear goals would need to be set "and found realistically able to be accomplished" before he would endorse such action.
"Let's be clear about something else, Bob," he added, "that gets a little confusing. There really are no additional troops. All we would be doing is keeping some of the troops who are there there longer and escalating or accelerating the arrival of other troops."
"So, it's grave and deteriorating," Powell assessed, "and we're not winning. We are losing."
But, the former diplomat added, "We haven't lost. And this is a time now to start to put in place the kinds of strategies that will turn this situation around."
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has, for the time being, rejected talk of sending more US troops into Iraq.