Congress mulls opposing troop rise in Iraq
Source: Reuters
(Adds Smith, House plan) By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate were preparing legislation on Tuesday opposing what they called an "escalation" in the Iraq war as the new Democratic-led Congress flexed its muscles against the unpopular conflict and President George W. Bush. Bush is expected to announce an increase of about 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq in a speech on Wednesday, but Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate's top Democrat, said Americans, as well as some military commanders, opposed any increase in forces. Reid said he was examining proposals by several senators -- including one Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy made on Tuesday to block a boost in troops -- before deciding what to bring to the Senate floor, possibly as early as next week. The important thing was to produce something that could pass the narrowly divided Senate with support from both parties, Reid told reporters outside the Senate. "We believe that there are a number of Republicans who will join with us to say no to escalation," Reid said, adding that at least nine of 49 Republicans in the 100-lawmaker chamber opposed a troop increase. "I really believe that if we can come up with a bipartisan approach to this escalation it will do more to change the direction of the war in Iraq than any other thing we could do," Reid said. Congress passed a resolution authorizing the Iraq war in October 2002. Since then, the war has taken the lives of more than 3,000 U.S. soldiers, and Democrats rode growing public unhappiness with the conflict to majorities in both houses of Congress in November elections. Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California have urged Bush to begin bringing U.S. troops home soon. And growing numbers of Republicans are expressing unease about the war. One Senate Republican who joined critics of the war late last year, Gordon Smith of Oregon, said on Tuesday he was "very open" to Kennedy's proposal. SPENDING CONTROLS CONSIDERED John Boehner, of Ohio, the House Republican leader and a strong supporter of Bush on Iraq, said he wanted to hear from the president how any new strategy would move the U.S. closer to bringing its troops home from a successful mission. "Every American wants to bring our troops home, and Republicans believe we must begin this process as we achieve our strategic objectives and strengthen regional security," he said. But plans for reacting to Bush's strategy with floor action were not as advanced in the House. "The House will vote on the president's proposal," a spokeswoman for Pelosi said, but added that she did not know what the timing or content of that resolution would be. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer raised the possibility of signaling opposition to Bush's new strategy by attaching restrictions to some $100 billion more in spending for the war that the president is expected to request soon. Kennedy, who has always opposed the war, declared Congress had the authority to block Bush's plan to increase troops, at least through its power to control spending. "My bill will say that no additional troops can be sent and no additional dollars can be spent on such an escalation, unless and until Congress approves the president's plan," Kennedy said in a speech. White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush was working on his speech. Democrats like Kennedy, he said, were going to have to decide "where they stand in terms of two issues: Number one, do you want Iraq to succeed, and if so, what does that mean? "And number two: Do you believe in supporting the troops as you say and how do you express that support?" (Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Steve Holland)
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