Coleman joins effort to pressure Bush on Iraq

01/23/2007

The Minnesota senator signed on to a new, narrower resolution, saying the Senate disagrees with the president's troop increase.


By Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune
Last update: January 22, 2007 – 8:49 PM


WASHINGTON - Adding to the pressure on President Bush, Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota backed a new resolution Monday opposing a buildup of U.S. troops in Baghdad, but leaving open a bigger push against insurgent forces in other parts of Iraq.

The draft, championed by Sen. John Warner, R-Va., is more narrowly drawn than a Democratic resolution opposing a boost of U.S. troop strength in Iraq. That resolution, which could come up for a vote this week, also has some Republican support, notably from Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel.

Both resolutions are nonbinding on the president, who is in the beginning stages of increasing U.S. troops in Iraq by 21,500. Neither draft would affect funding for the war effort.

Coleman called the resolution "an expression of bipartisan concern over the president's plan for a new way forward in Iraq."

The Democrats' proposal, which has the backing of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., offers a more sweeping rebuke to the White House plan, calling it an escalation of the war and "not in the national interests."

Some Republicans have threatened a filibuster on the measure.

The new resolution, saying the Senate "disagrees with the plan" and urging the president "to consider all options," appears designed to peel away Republican support from the broader Democratic measure.

Since Coleman, a Republican, returned from a trip to Iraq last month, he has been critical of sending more troops to quell sectarian violence in Baghdad. But he has also been reluctant to support a resolution opposing a troop increase, suggesting that he is open to the possibility of sending reinforcements to Anbar Province.

"There is a battle that's being fought against Al-Qaida and against the insurgents. We see Anbar as an example," Coleman said Monday. "They're seizing ground. But ultimately, to hold that, you need Sunnis in the police force and in the army."

Coleman has come under sharp criticism from Minnesota DFLers for appearing to break from Bush's war policy, but refusing to back up his words in deeds. He appeared to check those criticisms Monday afternoon by signing on to a proposal that Warner and other had been considering for the past five days.

The Democratic sponsor of the alternative resolution is Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

The new resolution was announced as House Republican leaders proposed a set of benchmarks designed to measure the progress of Bush's new strategy in Iraq, and to hold the administration and the Iraqi government accountable for their role in achieving success.

There are a number of other competing proposals this week. One, proposed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., would require a new war authorization from Congress. Backed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the Dodd bill would go beyond a nonbinding "sense of the Senate" resolution that other Democrats are considering.