Bush Tries to Tone Down High-Pitched Debate on Iraq

Such a direct attack on a member of Congress is more typically delivered by the Republican National Committee, not on White House stationery, and the tone only grew angrier the next day on the House floor when a freshman Republican suggested Murtha was a coward.

Bush appeared to be trying to ratchet back the dialogue to a more civil plane Sunday. "This is a debate worthy of our country," he said. "It's an important debate. It does not have to be a partisan issue. Fine Democrats like Senator Joe Lieberman share the view that we must prevail in Iraq."

At the same time, he rejected Murtha's rhetoric. The congressman scoffed at attacks from those who received multiple deferments in the Vietnam War, a reference to Cheney. "I don't think the vice president's service is relevant in this debate," Bush said. "And I would hope all of us in this debate talk about the policy and have an honest, open debate about whether or not it makes sense to immediately withdraw our troops."

He added, "Those elected leaders in Washington who do not support our policies in Iraq have every right to voice their dissent. They also have a responsibility to provide a credible alternative. The stakes are too high and the national interest too important for anything otherwise."

In the lengthy NBC interview, Murtha criticized the administration for misjudging everything from the number of troops needed for postwar occupation to underestimating the importance of the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

"They have been overly optimistic, illusionary about their policy. This is not a war of words; this is a real war where people are getting killed. Fifteen thousand people have been wounded and half of them are desperately wounded, blinded, without their arms," he said. "So this is a real war which we have to find a solution to. And since there's no progress, we've got to find a way to let the Iraqis take over."

On CNN's "Late Edition," Rumsfeld called Murtha "a fine person," but added that "just as everyone can say what they want, we also have to think of what the words mean to the enemy."

Rumsfeld went on to say that "very little support went to Jack Murtha" after the congressman spoke out last week. "The Democrats didn't step up and support it, and Republicans didn't step up and support it. I think it's important for our troops to know that."

Brown reported from Washington.