WORLD / America
Bush tries to avoid Iraq showdown
(AP)
Updated: 2007-01-18 10:36
US Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton from New York holds a press
conference on Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Clinton, fresh from
a tour of Iraq, blasted US President George W. Bush's plan, saying it
would not stem the raging sectarian violence. [AFP]
WASHINGTON - A US Senate resolution opposing President Bush's war plan on
Iraq put the White House and Republican leaders on the defensive
Wednesday as they scurried to prevent a trickle of GOP support for the
measure from swelling into a deluge.
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Eager to avoid an embarrassing congressional rebuke of the president's
new war strategy, the administration seemed to hint that the effort - led
chiefly by Democrats - might somehow be of assistance to terrorists.
They also herded GOP skeptics to the White House, where they tried to
allay the concerns of Republican lawmakers including Sens. John Warner of
Virginia, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Susan
Collins of Maine.
"What message does Congress intend to give?" asked White House spokesman
Tony Snow. "And who does it think the audience is? Is the audience merely
the president? Is it the voting American public or, in an age of instant
communication, is it also al-Qaida?"
Initially announced by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl
Levin, D-Mich., and possible 2008 presidential candidates Sens. Joseph
Biden, D-Del., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., the non-binding resolution states
that "escalating the United States military force presence in Iraq" is
not in the national interest. Bush has proposed adding 21,500 US troops
to the roughly 132,000 already in the country.
Moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, also quickly signed on.
Hagel's and Snowe's support for the measure is a major victory for
Democrats, who believe their support will open the door for other
Republicans to jump on board and challenge Bush.
The resolution does not call for a withdrawal of troops or threaten
funding of military operations, as many Democrats have suggested.
Instead, it says the US should transfer responsibility to the Iraqis
"under an appropriately expedited timeline" that is not specified.
Republicans who attended the White House meetings said they emerged
unconvinced more troops were the answer in Iraq, but were unsure whether
signing on to the resolution was the answer.
Underscoring the GOP effort to keep its troops in line, many of those
same members were invited Wednesday evening to meet behind closed doors
with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has threatened
to filibuster the measure.
As the White House sought to stave off a major showdown between the
administration and Congress on Iraq, GOP members who support Bush's plan
drafted rival proposals.
House GOP leaders introduced a bill that would protect funding for US
troops, while Senate Republicans prepared a resolution that would voice
support for Bush's strategy.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the Senate Republican resolution would
say the Senate believes the war in Iraq should not be lost "and this
strategy could bring about success if properly supported."
Warner is considering an alternative proposal that could attract GOP
attention. Rather than denouncing the president's strategy, Warner's
resolution would voice support for recommendations by a bipartisan Iraq
Study Group. That panel urged a withdrawal of US combat troops by early
2008, and did not recommend sending more troops unless specifically
requested by a military commander.
In a statement announcing her decision to co-sponsor the Democratic-led
resolution, Snowe said, "Now is time for the Congress to make its voice
heard on a policy that has such significant implications for the nation,
the Middle East and the world."
Hagel stood alongside Democrats in a press conference vowing to "do
everything I can to stop the president's policy," adding, "I think it is
dangerously irresponsible."
The resolution makes two underlying points: that sending more troops is
the wrong approach and that a political solution is needed to end the
violence. The draft document also says the main mission of US troops
should be "a transition to helping ensure the territorial integrity of
Iraq, conduct counterterrorism activities, reduce regional interference
in the internal affairs of Iraq, and accelerate training of Iraqi troops."
Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said his panel
will debate the measure on Jan. 24, the day following Bush's State of the
Union address. A swift committee review would pave the way for debate on
the floor as early as that week, although Democrats say it is likely
Republicans on the committee will want to make changes.
Biden said "modest changes" to the bill might be used "to attract those
who share our view but may not like our specific language."
The resolution backed by Biden and the others could help Democrats
measure GOP support for more aggressive legislative tactics, such as
cutting off funds for the war.
"Just how serious this resolution is, although it's not binding, is
reflected by the fact that the Republican leader in the Senate has
threatened to filibuster it," said Levin.
Many Democrats want to go much further and are expected to try to amend
the resolution on the floor. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said he
wants legislation capping the number of troops in Iraq at existing levels
- a plan that attracted support from Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who
has his own bill threatening funding of troops.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., on Wednesday announced her
legislation that would require Bush to obtain congressional approval for
additional troops in Iraq if the Iraqis cannot show progress after six
months.
"I do not support cutting funding for American troops but I do support
cutting funding for Iraqi forces if the Iraqi government does not meet
set conditions," Clinton told reporters after returning from a trip to
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dodd and Clinton are among several Democrats with 2008 presidential
aspirations.
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