US hopes Maliki can soothe concerns in Congress

Kansas City (Mo), Jan. 26: The White House has expressed hope that a vow by Iraqi's prime minister to crack down on militants would help soothe concerns in the U S Congress after a key panel rebuffed President George W Bush's troop increase plan.

Bush spokesman Tony Snow said the administration welcomed what he called an ''assertive'' address by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday, two days after the U S president implored Congress to give his Iraq strategy a chance.

Rebuffing Bush, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a non-binding resolution on Wednesday opposing his decision to send 21,500 more troops to fight in the increasingly unpopular war.

Maliki pledged to parliament to leave militants, Shi'ite and Sunni alike, nowhere to hide in Baghdad, where sectarian violence has added to Americans' doubts about his Shi'ite-dominated government's commitment to reconciliation.

Snow said Maliki also addressed ''two hugely important political benchmarks'' by telling Iraqi lawmakers he wanted them to pass a hydrocarbons law and de-Baathification reform in the current session.

''A very assertive address on the part of the prime minister,'' Snow told reporters aboard Air Force One traveling with Bush to Missouri. ''We certainly welcome that because it demonstrates the kind of vigor that we've been talking about and that the American people expect.'' ''And (it) also responds specifically to concerns members of Congress have been expressing in terms of the aims and the determination of the government of Iraq,'' he added.

Snow said there were ''no real surprises'' in the Senate panel's vote on the Iraq resolution, and pointed out that Nebraska Sen.

Chuck Hagel was the only Republican to vote for it. The measure now goes to the full Senate for a vote expected as soon as next week.

In the closely divided Senate, lawmakers were struggling to find compromise language that a majority could support. Some Republicans criticized as too partisan Wednesday's resolution that deemed a troop increase against the ''national interest.'' Bush has made clear he will not abide by any resolution opposing the troop build-up, and Vice President Dick Cheney said in a CNN interview ''it won't stop us.'' But a bipartisan vote would carry strong symbolism for a U S public weary of a war that has claimed more than 3,000 American lives and killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said it was ''delusional'' for Cheney to suggest, as he did to CNN, that the administration had achieved ''enormous successes'' in Iraq.

Despite that, Democratic leaders have stopped short of threatening to cut off funding for the troop build-up, mindful that would allow Bush and his allies to accuse them of abandoning the troops as the 2008 presidential race gears up.

Reuters