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Chuck Hagel received a standing ovation in Lincoln Tuesday after speaking for more than two hours on Iraq and immigration.

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About 300 people periodically applauded during Hagel’s pre-July 4th Town Hall meeting at the University of Nebraska campus.

Hagel wants a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq. He also called for an international mediator to improve Iraq’s government and stop sectarian violence.

There is a gradual disintegration of the Iraqi government and it has failed to meet benchmarks for progress, he said.

However, he stressed that troop withdrawal must be phased, not abrupt.

An abrupt withdrawal would be “very, very disastrous” for Iraq and for peace and stability in the region, he told Lincoln Journal Star news writer Don Walton in an interview.

“I know this issue,” he said. “I knew this (war) was wrong. I believe it’s the biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of this country. I’m not afraid to say what I believe.”

Hagel told the Journal-Star he would accept whatever political price he may be asked to pay for opposing President Bush on the war.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, a challenger for Hagel’s Senate seat, is highly critical.

“I may be a political casualty before people figure this out,” Hagel said. “I’m prepared to take that risk. I accept that. I couldn’t do it any other way.”

Bruning announced recently he has raised nearly $750,000 in campaign funds, and he issued a critical statement immediately after Hagel’s Town Hall meeting.

Bruning said Hagel has voted for “strict timetables for early surrender” in Iraq.

“Sen. Hagel’s plan does nothing to defeat the terrorists in Iraq or stop the sectarian violence that has slowed our progress,” Bruning said.