Will yet another anti-war candidate from the United States Senate enter the 2008 presidential race?

And a Republican, no less?

It’s looking increasingly likely. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) is planning to announce his decision on the presidential race Monday in his home state of Nebraska, CNN reports.

The two-term senator ’s intentions are still unknown, but he said in January he would make a decision about a run soon.

The 60-year-old also is set to appear next week at a forum for presidential hopefuls put on by the International Association of Firefighters.

Hagel, like Senate counterparts and presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Chris Dodd (as well as former senator John Edwards) supported the 2002 resolution authorizing the invasion of Iraq, but has since done an about-face and become an outspoken critic of the war.

He called President George W. Bush’s plan to increase U.S. troops in Iraq “the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.”

Hagel, himself a decorated Vietnam veteran, was one of seven Republicans to back a non-binding resolution last month opposing the troop increase, a measure that failed on a procedural vote.

In a newly published interview in Esquire magazine, Hagel said Bush appears to believe he’s no longer accountable.

“[That] isn’t totally true,” Hagel said. “You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don’t know. It depends how this goes.”

Strong words. But aside from his stance on Iraq, Hagel is a rank-and-file GOP stalwart. He supported the Bush tax cuts in 2001, has a “perfect” score on abortion issues from pro-life groups and backs efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration.

Yeah. Not exactly the maverick, independent voice we’re hoping for. But then again, neither is McCain - and he actually relishes his image as one.

If he does enter the race, Hagel would undoubtedly face an uphill battle in the GOP primaries against the likes of McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

A national poll, conducted by Opinion Research Corp. in January, put him at exactly 1 percent among registered Republicans. By comparison, Giuliani led that survey at 32 percent, while McCain, Hagel’s friend and frequent ally, came in at 26 percent.

McCain, also a Vietnam veteran, is a leading supporter of the Iraq war and Bush’s decision to bolster the U.S. contingent there.

McCain said having an anti-war candidate in the race “will certainly add another element” to the GOP contests, “because everybody else… at least to some degree or another, says they support [the war].”

“I’m sure he’ll be a good campaigner. He’s a very articulate, attractive, handsome man with an impressive record. Not better looking than me.”

Thanks, John. While Hagel won’t likely stand a chance against his better-known, better-funded counterparts, we’re all for an anti-war voice shaking things up on the GOP side. At the very least, it makes for some good sound bites and footage of John McCain getting irritable.

It will also be interesting to see where Hagel stands, publicly, on House Democrats’ plan, announced today, for conditional war funding and definitive Iraq withdrawal in 2008.