A Senator who has long been a war supporter called for the United States to begin redeployment from Iraq.

Republican Richard Lugar, the top ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made his case Monday night on the Senate floor.

Lugar said that there have been failures in planning for the aftermath of the war and to not plan for redeployment would repeat those mistakes.

"In 2003, we witnessed the costs that come with insufficient planning for the aftermath of the Iraq invasion," the Indiana senator said. "It is absolutely essential that we not repeat the same mistake. The longer we delay the planning for redeployment, the less likely it is to be successful. The United States has violated some basic national security precepts during our military engagement in Iraq. We have overestimated what the military can achieve, we have set goals that are unrealistic, and we have inadequately factored in the broader regional consequences of our actions."

The unusually blunt assessment comes as a surprise. Most Republicans have said they were willing to wait until September to see if Bush's recently ordered troop buildup in Iraq was working.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says that Lugar's remarks are "not a departure" for him and that the White House isn't concerned that other Republicans will follow Lugar's example.