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White House reviewing Iraq policy

Ewen MacAskill

Move prompted by revolt among Republican Senators

Washington: The White House is reviewing its Iraq strategy earlier than planned because of a growing revolt by Republicans who have run out of patience and want U.S. troops brought home.

President George Bush had been hoping he had until at least September before debate began on whether his “surge” strategy, in which 30,000 more troops were sent to Iraq, was working. But the White House is alarmed by the sudden loss of confidence among Republicans who returned to Congress on Monday after a short recess. The Senate began discussions on a new round of funding for the Iraq war. The intense debate inside the White House comes as the U.S. Commander in Iraq, Lieutentant-General David Petraeus, cautioned that fighting the insurgency could take decades.

In an interview with the BBC, he claimed the “surge” strategy was producing gains on the ground. But U.S. forces were engaged in a “tough fight” which would get “harder before it gets easier”.

His bleak assessment came as pressure grew in Washington for an early withdrawal. The danger for the White House is if disenchanted Republicans join forces with Democrats in Congress to set limits or a timetable.

The New York Times on Monday quoted a White House official as saying: “When you count up the votes that we’ve lost and the votes we’re likely to lose over the next few weeks, it is pretty grim.” Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, told a press conference on Monday he welcomed the Republican defections and that the White House is “considering changing its mission”. He added: “We have an opportunity in the next few weeks to change our Iraq strategy.”

Three Republican Senators have broken rank in the last fortnight.

A fourth, Susan Collins, said on Monday there had been “a steady erosion for the President’s policy” because of the “tremendous loss of life among our troops”. Overall, 3,606 U.S. troops have died since the invasion. The April-June quarter was the deadliest and in July, 29 were killed. —

Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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