Proposal against Bush Iraq plan gains in US Senate

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) The US Senate moved a step closer to repudiating US President George W Bush's Iraq strategy today when a key Democrat backed a Republican-crafted proposal opposing a troop increase.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Delaware Democrat Joseph Biden, endorsed the Republican plan although he had written a competing, more bluntly worded resolution against Bush's recent decision to add 21,500 more troops in Iraq.

Biden said he and his co-authors could support Virginia Republican Senator John Warner's measure after Warner made clear he was not merely calling for a smaller troop increase in his proposal.

''Now we have a real opportunity for the Senate to speak clearly'' on Bush's plan, said Biden, a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Debate on the Warner resolution is expected to start in the Senate on Monday. Although it is not binding, it would be hard for Bush to ignore, Biden told his committee.

''If the majority of the Congress and the majority of the American people speak loudly, it's very difficult I think for the president to totally dismiss that,'' Biden said.

Bush, however, has said he would not be swayed by a Senate vote.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who last week warned such resolutions could embolden the enemy, was more restrained today.

''My view is that this is, this whole effort is being undertaken by people who want to do what they think is right for this country, the best thing they can for the country,'' he said during a meeting with Senate Republican leaders.

White House spokesman Tony Snow urged lawmakers to ''think through precisely what the resolution says to all parties involved.'' ''But the president's also not in the business of writing resolutions for a separate and co-equal branch of government.'' Snow said. ''And furthermore the president has made it clear to one and all that he does intend to consult regularly with Congress on everything.'' Former White House National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft warned senators against a precipitous withdrawal of troops in search of a ''quick fix'' in Iraq. ''We've got a long, hard slog here,'' he said ''The costs of withdrawal before a stable Iraq emerges would be enormous,'' Scowcroft told Biden's committee. ''Our friends would feel abandoned. Our opponents would be emboldened and encouraged to take the offensive. Terrorists everywhere would trumpet the driving of the 'Great Satan' from the region.'' A reduction in US troops ''should follow success in our efforts, not the calendar or the performance of others,'' Scowcroft said.

REUTERS SP KP2338