Iraq plan draws opposition from both sides of Congress

US president George Bush’s new plan to send more troops to Iraq is getting a chilly reception in Congress.

US president George Bush’s new plan to send more troops to Iraq is getting a chilly reception in Congress.

Sceptical lawmakers say they do not believe the Iraqis are up to the challenge.

During a series of Capitol Hill hearings today on Bush’s plan, top administration officials took a beating from Democrats and some Republicans who said they were not convinced the latest strategy represents a change in US military policy in Iraq.

The new strategy was slammed as desperate and even dumb, and many expressed frustration that there was no stated time limit on the build-up or a defined threat that the US would pull out if the Iraqis don’t perform as promised.

“The idea that we should add more military force to enable a political solution that they cannot articulate and, frankly, we don’t believe that they really intend to do, is just folly,” Democratic representative Ellen Tauscher told defence secretary Robert Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during an afternoon House Armed Services hearing.

Republicans often were equally sharp in their comments.

“We owe the military and their families a policy – a policy – worthy of their sacrifices. And I don’t believe, Dr Rice, that we have that policy today,” Republican senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a potential 2008 presidential contender, told secretary of state Condoleezza Rice during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

The debate was to continue today, as Gates and Pace try to convince the Senate Armed Services Committee that the new plan will turn around a bloody conflict that has lasted nearly four years and claimed more than 3,000 American lives.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate intend to hold votes within a few weeks on Bush’s revised Iraq policy. The non-binding resolutions would be one way to show their opposition to any troop buildup and force Republicans to make a choice.

Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell charged that what Democrats really want to do is cut off funding for the troops, something Democrats have denied. McConnell threatened to block any legislation expressing disapproval of the buildup plan.

McConnell conceded that Republican lawmakers as well as Democrats are troubled by Bush’s new policy, but he said: “Congress is completely incapable of dictating the tactics of the war."

Options for war critics to try forcing its end are limited, given the slim margin of Democratic control, especially in the Senate.

However, votes stating symbolic opposition to the troop buildup could embarrass many Republicans leery of supporting Bush’s plan.

During yesterday’s hearings, Rice, Gates and Pace insisted that the Iraqi government’s new political commitment to take charge of their own country was the key change.

“There are no guarantees and I cannot guarantee what the Iraqi government’s going to do,” Pace said. “I can simply tell you what they have said they’re going to do. And if they do what they say they're going to do, then this will succeed.”

However, while Gates and Rice would not provide a timetable for the plan, they suggested the administration could abandon the strategy if the Iraqis don’t do their part.

“What is really new in this is accepting Iraqi responsibility for what is going to be the future of the country,” Rice said. “Our patience with the Iraqis is not unlimited.”

Gates said the build-up was being measured in “a matter of months, not 18 months or two years".

Bush’s plan, which the president outlined in a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday, would raise troop levels in Iraq by 21,500 – from 132,000 to 153,500 – at a cost of nearly £3bn (€4.5bn).

It also calls for the Iraqi government to increase its own forces and to do more to quell sectarian violence.

However, Bush, speaking to troops at Fort Benning, Georgia, cautioned that the troop increase “is not going to yield immediate results. It’s going to take awhile.”

A new AP-Ipsos poll found approval for Bush’s handling of Iraq hovering near a record low – 29% of Americans approve and 68% disapprove.

Committee members pressed Gates, who replaced Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon and has been on the job just three weeks, on an exit strategy for the US.

“At the outset of the strategy, it’s a mistake to talk about an exit strategy,” he said.

Gates also announced yesterday that he was requesting an increase in the size of the Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 troops over the next five years.

He also said the Pentagon would recall to duty sooner than planned some National Guard and Reserve troops who have served yearlong tours in Iraq or Afghanistan.

As Rice testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Democratic Rep Howard Berman likened Bush’s plan to a “hail Maliki pass” – jokingly combining Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki’s name with the American football “Hail Mary” desperation pass.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

Bodies of Easter pilgrims still inside bus that crashed off South African bridge Bodies of Easter pilgrims still inside bus that crashed off South African bridge
Cranes arrive to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse Cranes arrive to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse
Jacob Zuma Former South Africa leader Jacob Zuma barred from running in elections
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited