GOP faces vote on Smirk's war plan

GOP faces tough vote on Bush's war plan - Yahoo! News GOP faces tough vote on Bush's war plan By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press President Bush summoned Republicans skeptical of the war to the White House on Wednesday as Democrats won support from a GOP senator for a resolution expressing opposition to a 21,500 troop buildup in Iraq. Democratic House and Senate leaders intend to hold votes to gauge GOP opposition to Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq. The Senate leadership is expected by Thursday to propose a resolution denouncing the plan, with debate planned around the same time Bush delivers his State of the Union speech next Tuesday. Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska, a Republican critic of the administration's Iraq policy and a potential 2008 presidential candidate, is working with Senate Democrats on a resolution opposing Bush's troop buildup, which would give the measure a bipartisan stamp. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) said the House will follow suit with its own resolution. The White House said Bush would meet on Wednesday with Republican senators about the president's plans in Iraq. He refused to say who was invited but said that "probably everybody there is at least skeptical" about the buildup. The resolutions would likely be a symbolic expression of Congress but would not affect the Pentagon's war budget or challenge the president's authority over U.S. forces. Such votes, however, could be a shot across the bow to Bush, who said Jan. 10 that the extra troops are needed to protect U.S. interests in Iraq. The resolutions also would help Democrats measure GOP support for more aggressive legislative tactics, such as cutting off funds for the war. Such a vote puts many Republicans in an uncomfortable position. They will have to decide whether to stay loyal to an unpopular GOP president and risk angering voters disillusioned by the war or buck the party line. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said Wednesday she thinks there should be a cap on U.S. troops in Iraq and said she wants "to condition American aid to the Iraqis on their meeting political benchmarks." "I am opposed to this escalation," she said on NBC's "Today" program. "The Bush administration has frankly failed to put any leverage on this government," said Clinton, considered a likely 2008 Democratic presidential front-runner, although she has not yet entered the race. Bush has been trying to sell his revised war plan to the public in a series of television interviews. He told PBS's Jim Lehrer in an interview broadcast Tuesday that keeping his old policies in place would lead to "a slow failure," but withdrawing from Iraq, as some Democrats and other critics suggest, would result in an "expedited failure." "I am frustrated with the progress," Bush said. "A year ago, I felt pretty good about the situation. I felt like we were achieving our objective, which is a country that can govern, sustain and defend itself. No question, 2006 was a lousy year for Iraq." Bush also said that the unruly execution of Saddam Hussein "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing," making it harder to persuade a skeptical U.S. public that Iraq's government will keep promises central to Bush's plan for a troop increase. In his toughest assessment yet, Bush criticized the circumstances of Saddam's hanging last month, as well as Monday's execution of two top aides, including Saddam's half brother. "I was disappointed and felt like they fumbled the — particularly the Saddam Hussein execution," the president said. In spite of Bush's efforts to gain support, several GOP members are offering only tepid endorsements of his plan, as well as a wait-and-see approach to the Democratic resolution. Republican Rep. Chris Shays — who scraped by in the November elections while his GOP Connecticut colleagues Rob Simmons and Nancy Johnson lost their seats — said his vote would depend on what Democrats come up with. He said he supports the troop push if there are guarantees offered by the Iraqis that they will reach a political settlement. Likewise, Sens. Saxby Chambliss (news, bio, voting record), R-Ga., and John Sununu (news, bio, voting record), R-N.H. — both up for re-election in 2008 — say they think Bush's plan might work, but only if the Iraqis come up with a way to share oil and reach other political milestones. Lining up behind Bush in the Senate are Republican stalwarts and a few members who have long backed sending more troops to Iraq, including Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz. At least seven Republican senators have said they flatly oppose the troop increase: Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) of Kansas, Hagel, Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record) of Minnesota, Gordon Smith (news, bio, voting record) of Oregon, George Voinovich (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio, Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record) of Maine and Olympia Snowe (news, bio, voting record) of Maine. Acknowledging their party is divided on Iraq, Republican leaders are trying to stave off a showdown in Congress by casting Democratic efforts as a political ploy to embarrass the president. Republicans are also discussing alternative proposals, including one House resolution promising to keep funding for troops in combat. The White House cautioned lawmakers about the consequences of voting against a buildup. "The one thing the president has said is, whatever you do, make sure you support the troops," Snow said at the White House. "And the question people who support this resolution will have to ask is, how does this support the troops?"