"I've been a little disturbed by the dismissive tone by some in the Bush administration's civilian leadership of commanders on the ground, saying, 'Well, that's a very minute view of the war. That's a simplistic view. That's an isolated view," the senator from Nebraska told CNN.

"When your battlefield commanders who are there, who are commanding the troops, in the middle of the battle, are saying certain things, the civilian leadership at the Pentagon must be very careful not to be publicly dismissive of that," Hagel, a decorated Vietnam War veteran said. "They should listen to it carefully."

Although he did not say who he had in mind, Hagel was clearly referring to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who Sunday denied reports he had rejected advice from military commanders to use substantially more troops and armour.

"I think you'll find that if you ask anyone who has been involved in the process from the Central Command, that every single thing they've requested has in fact happened," Rumsfeld said on Fox News television.

Rumsfeld insisted that the military plan to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, which he said was devised by Central Command chief General Tommy Franks, was "outstanding" and that the critics had not seen it.

The Washington Post also said that serving and former military officers were accusing Rumsfeld and his aides of not sending enough troops to Iraq and that they had "micromanaged" deployments because they did not trust their generals.

Rumsfeld dismissed the reports as "absolutely false".

WAR.WIRE