US Senate edges closer to confronting Bush

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) The US Senate edged closer to a showdown debate over Iraq with attacks coming from the right and left on a proposal to reject President George W Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to war.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada set a vote for Monday on whether to consider the nonbinding measure that would put the Senate on record against Bush's planned troop increase. Reid said he believed a majority of the chamber's 100 senators opposed Bush's plan.

Although the proposal's main author, Virginia Republican John Warner, won the backing of key Democrats by rewriting parts of it, Reid could not say whether it had the backing of 60 senators it would need in a procedural vote that would clear it for a final vote requiring a simple majority.

''Whether we get 60, 58 or 53, we're going to be able to show the American people that the Senate, on a bipartisan basis, opposes this escalation in Iraq,'' Reid said yesterday.

Opponents of Bush's plan were bolstered by comments from the outgoing top US military commander in Iraq who said the five brigades proposed by Bush may not be necessary to secure Baghdad.

''I believe that the job in Baghdad, as it's designed now, can be done with less than that,'' Army Gen George Casey said.

''My commanders told me that they needed two brigades to implement this plan and I asked for those forces.'' But Casey, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he did not oppose sending the additional troops as they would provide more flexibility.

That suggested at least a difference in emphasis from his designated successor, Gen. David Petraeus, who wants all extra forces to be deployed as quickly as possible. The committee was considering Casey's nomination to be US Army chief of staff.

SIPHON OFF SUPPORT Meanwhile opponents of the Senate resolution -- both Democrats and Republicans -- lobbied hard to siphon off support.

While the resolution would not force the president's hand, South Carolina Republican Sen Lindsey Graham said Senate passage ''will be perceived in the Middle East as America throwing in the towel.'' Graham, fellow Republican John McCain of Arizona, and Joseph Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, sought backing for their alternative measure supporting US troops and urging that the Iraqi government be required to meet benchmarks such as cracking down on sectarian conflict.

Some liberal Democrats split with most of their party and opposed Warner's proposal as not tough enough. Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd said the Senate should force the administration to act, perhaps by capping the level of troops in Iraq.

''Why not force them (the White House) to pay attention to what we say up here?'' Dodd demanded. ''This is the United States Senate, this is not a city council somewhere.'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said it appeared the situation was in ''considerable flux''.

Snow said the Bush administration would need to see concrete results from Bush's new plan within six to eight months. ''I won't give you an absolute timetable, but obviously the next six to eight months are going to be times when people expect to see something happen,'' he said.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that Bush's troop buildup could cost at least double the administration's estimate and involve more than twice the number of troops.

The price tag could reach about 13 billion dollars for a four-month mission, the nonpartisan CBO said. The combat soldiers Bush said he is going to deploy to Iraq might have to be augmented by 28,000 support troops, it added.

In January, the Bush administration estimated a cost of 5.6 billion dollars to dispatch 21,500 troops.

The White House said that Bush next week will seek emergency funds to pay for operations in Iraq. His request for the rest of 2007 is expected top 100 billion dollars, making it the biggest such request yet for Iraq.

Reuters SBA VP0702