Senate committee repudiates Bush on Iraq
(AP)Updated: 2007-01-25 08:39
Some committee Republicans sought unsuccessfully to temper the measure before it was approved. Additionally, more than a half-dozen GOP lawmakers in the Senate have signaled interest in an alternative that merely expresses disagreement with the president's policy rather than deeming it not in the national interest.
While he said he opposes deploying additional troops in Baghdad, Coleman added he wants to leave open the possibility of a bigger force in the Anbar province in the western part of the country.
Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the committee's senior Republican, readily conceded he was not sure Bush's new policy would succeed. But he voted against the measure, saying, "It is unclear to me how passing a nonbinding resolution that the president has already said he will ignore will contribute to any improvement or modification of our Iraq policy."
Lugar also said sponsors of the measure were underestimating their power to force a change.
"We have the ability to require weekly updates from our diplomats and military commanders about the status in Iraq. We should be engaging the administration on almost a daily basis concerning the mission and needs of our troops," he said.
"We should demand of the president precise explanations of his political and diplomatic strategy. We should conduct what amounts to a continuous audit of our economic assistance, to ensure that we are maximizing results."
Some of the most emotional rhetoric of the day came as committee members challenged one another to take a stand.
"If you wanted a safe job, go sell shoes," said Hagel.
"This is a tough business. But is it any tougher, us having to take a tough vote, express ourselves and have the courage to step up on what we're asking our young men and women to do?"
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