Democrats Reject General's Iraq Plan

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., right, listens as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., left, speaks to reporters after their meeting with President Bush regarding Iraq at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak - AP)

At issue in talks among Reid and Senate Democrats was how far they should go in forcing a new mission for troops without losing support from various political sides, according to congressional aides familiar with the meeting in Reid's office.

Petraeus, in testimony this week, argued against shifting troops from their current mission of securing the population and counterterrorism to one focused strictly on counterterror and training the Iraqi security forces.

"Making that change now would, in our view, be premature," he said. "We have learned before that there is a real danger in handing over tasks to the Iraqi Security Forces before their capacity and local conditions warrant."

If the legislation were nonbinding and only urged Bush to refocus the mission, the bill could lose support from more liberal Democrats such as Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

On the contrary, if the bill ordered the mission changed by a certain date, it might turn off Warner, Collins, Coleman and other GOP moderates.

Reid declined to discuss details, saying only that Democrats would offer four to six amendments "to change the course of the war" when the Senate takes up a defense bill next week. One probably would come from Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., requiring that troops spend as much time home as they do in combat.

Among the Republicans working with Reid and Levin are Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore.; both long ago turned against the war.

Bush spoke Wednesday by telephone with Petraeus and Crocker and thanked them for their service. The president planned an 18-minute address from the White House at 9 p.m. EDT Thursday to endorse Petraeus' recommendations, according to administration officials. The White House planned to release a written status report Friday on the troop buildup, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Bush's speech was not yet final.

While mirroring Petraeus' strategy, Bush will place more conditions on reductions than his general did, insisting that conditions on the ground must warrant cuts and unforeseen events could change the plan.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that stabilizing Iraq included "the territorial security of Iraq" with respect to its Mideast neighbors, especially Iran.

"Iran is a very troublesome neighbor," she said on NBC's "Today" show. "Iran is prepared to fill the vacuum" if the United States leaves Iraq.

In a joint press conference with Crocker on Wednesday, Petraeus said Iranians appear to be trying to create a like Hezbollah-like organization in Iraq that they could use to gain influence inside Iraq.

On Friday, the president intends to go to a Marine base in Quantico, Va., outside Washington, to talk about his Iraq policy, the White House announced.

Vice President Dick Cheney plans to speak about Iraq on Friday at appearances at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., and at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Pauline Jelinek contributed to this report.