Bipartisan Senate Measure Confronts Bush Over Iraq

The Senate resolution minces no words, declaring that "it is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq." But it goes well beyond a simple statement of opposition. Drawing heavily from the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, it calls for an acceleration of the training of Iraqi forces and the use of U.S. troops to secure Iraq's borders to prevent meddling by its neighbors.

It requests an "appropriately expedited timeline" for the transfer of internal security duties to the Iraqi government, and it urges the administration to "engage nations in the Middle East to develop a regional, internationally-sponsored peace and reconciliation process."

The measure will come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after Tuesday's State of the Union address and is likely to be reported out for action in the full Senate the following week. A few lawmakers, as well as antiwar activists, have decried the resolution as toothless, but its sponsors said yesterday that a strong bipartisan vote would have a resounding impact.

"The single most important thing to do is generate a consensus here in the United States Congress," Biden said. "I cannot believe that the president of the United States would not pay heed to a bipartisan resolution" from the Senate.

But there is no shortage of legislative proposals to follow the resolution. Clinton, an expected contender for the White House, proposed limiting troop levels in Iraq to about 135,000, bolstering troop strength in Afghanistan, and delivering both Bush and Iraq an ultimatum: Disarm the sectarian militia, reach agreement on Iraqi oil-revenue sharing, amend the Iraqi constitution to ensure minority rights, and convene a regional peace conference -- or lose funding for the fledgling Iraqi security forces.

It was the strongest statement of dissent yet from Clinton, who has taken heat from liberal activists for her initial support for the war. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), a White House aspirant, proposed his own bill, demanding that Bush seek congressional authorization before any additional troop deployments to Iraq. The bill differs only slightly from one introduced by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would require congressional authorization before any money could be spent on additional troops. House Democrats introduced several other measures, most of which were in line with the growing consensus that Congress should demand the right of reauthorization.

House Republicans countered with a bill to block the cutoff of any funds that would affect troops in the field, while Senate GOP leaders neared completion of their own resolution calling the Iraq war part of the "global struggle" against terrorism and saying the president's new policy will ensure victory in Iraq.

Staff writer Michael Abramowitz contributed to this report.