Democrats plot Bush troop increase censure

Democrats in the US House of Representatives are expected to vote next week on a stripped-down resolution condemning President George Bush’s decision to send more forces to Iraq, but declaring support for the troops, according to party aides.

The vote would be the first on the House floor over the Iraq war since Democrats took control of Congress in the November 7 elections.

The war, stretching almost four years and killing more than 3,000 troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis, has become widely unpopular among voters.

Democratic officials said they hoped for cross-party support for the measure and one Republican leader admitted that some members of his party’s rank and file would probably break ranks.

“I don’t think it’ll be a pure party-line vote,” said Rep Adam Putnam, chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Democratic leaders met privately yesterday to discuss the issue and they intend to present their proposal to their own rank and file today.

Leaders envisage each House member getting a chance to speak for five minutes on the issue during a three-day debate. The proposal is expected to circumvent committee review.

Such a measure would indicate House leaders want their own approach to parting company with Bush on the war and are moving away from a version that stalled in the Senate.

That resolution, drafted by Republican senator John Warner, stated disagreement to Bush’s decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. In a bid to attract more support from his party, Warner added a section promising to protect financing for troops in combat – a promise many House Democrats do not want to make.

“The president has left the Congress few alternatives other than to use the power of (the) purse spelled out in Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution to curtail US military operations in Iraq,” wrote California Democratic Reps Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee on behalf of 71 members of the progressive congressional caucus, a liberal group.

Frustrated that Senate leaders could not agree on debate rules for his resolution, Warner and six other Republicans told the leaders in a letter yesterday that “the current stalemate is unacceptable to us and to the people of this country”.

Republicans, on a party-line vote, blocked debate on the resolution earlier this week.

“Despite what has happened earlier this week, we are not going away,” said rebel Republican senator Susan Collins, who, with fellow Republican Senator Norm Coleman, sided with Democrats in seeking to move ahead on the measure.

Five other Republicans who oppose the troop increase and voted to bottle up the measure signed the letter.

As the House moved towards a vote, US defence secretary Robert Gates and Marine Corps General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told politicians they did not think debate in Congress would hurt the morale of troops in combat.

Less than two weeks ago, Gates had said a congressional resolution opposing the Iraq strategy undercut US commanders in Iraq and “emboldens the enemy”.

“As long as this Congress continues to do what it has done, which is to provide the resources for the mission, the dialogue will be the dialogue, and the troops will feel supported,” Pace told the House Armed Services Committee.

Gates said troops understood members of Congress wanted to find the best way to win the war.

Senate Democrats, outmanoeuvred in their efforts to get a vote on a resolution opposing Bush’s troop build-up, said they would now try to put pressure on Bush by amending legislation that is likely to reach his desk, daring him to veto.