Rumsfeld Will Not Set Timetable for Iraq Withdrawal

Gen. Richard Myers, the Joint Chiefs Chairman, was even more forceful about the effects of a U.S. withdrawal.

"Leaving before the task is complete would be catastrophic," he told the committee, "not only for Iraq but also for the struggle against violent extremism." He said U.S. troops should not leave "until the job is done."

Rumsfeld and Myers made their comments after Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the committee, called the Bush administration's Iraq strategy "unacceptable" and said options needed to be weighed.

Levin said only a political settlement would put an end to the insurgency in Iraq and that Baghdad must be told that the U.S. may withdraw troops if a political settlement isn't reached.

"The Iraqis have approved a timetable for adopting a constitution -- August 15 with the possibility of one and only one 6-month extension," Levin said. "The U.S. needs to tell the Iraqis and the world that if that deadline is not met we will review our position with all options open including but not limited to setting a timetable for withdrawal."

Levin said the cost of the war in Iraq is "$230 billion and rising." He also took issue with the administration's upbeat pronouncements of the war.

"The fact is that the insurgency has not weakened," Levin said.

Rumsfeld said the suggestion that the administration was painting a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq was false. "We have recognized this is a tough business. It is difficult, it is dangerous and it is not predictable," he said.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari met at the White House with Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Friday, he is scheduled to meet with President Bush.