Democrats Try to Unify on Iraq Position

"Simply put, we do not believe that the president has a strategy for victory," Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said after a closed-door meeting with the rank-and-file. "And we do not believe that staying the course is ultimately what the American people want to see."

But Democrats emerged from the meeting—held just before President Bush gave a speech defending his Iraq policies—without having coalesced around one plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenant, Rep. Steny Hoyer, stressed that members agreed on the overarching issue—that the president's strategy on Iraq is not working.

But they also said several members voiced various viewpoints during the meeting about how and when U.S. troops should be withdrawn.

Disparate Democratic positions about the future of the military presence in Iraq have been highlighted in the weeks since Rep. John Murtha, a prominent Democrat on military issues who voted for the war, sparked debate by calling for troops to start pulling out.

In one of many cases, the position of Murtha, the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations committee, conflicts with that of Rep. Ike Skelton, the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Murtha, D-Pa., wants to begin withdrawing U.S. troops now, which he said could take six months, while intensifying diplomatic efforts in Iraq. Skelton, D-Mo., said Wednesday that "Iraq can become a snake pit for terrorists" if U.S. forces pull out prematurely.

Skelton has presented a formula by which one U.S. brigade would return home for every three Iraqi brigades that are able to operate independently of U.S. forces. Skelton acknowledged his plan means a longer commitment of U.S. troops in Iraq because it takes months for an Iraqi brigade to become that capable.

Last week, Pelosi, D-Calif., and Hoyer, D-Md., also voiced conflicting viewpoints about when the United States should start withdrawing troops. Pelosi signed onto Murtha's proposal while Hoyer said in a statement: "a precipitous withdrawal of American forces in Iraq could lead to disaster."

Republicans are using those types of divisions to criticize Democrats anew on Iraq, even though there's a similar—though much more discrete—debate going on in the Republican Party.

"While the president continues to highlight the successes of our troops, and the plan for victory in Iraq, his opponents in the Congress have yet to provide a plan of their own." Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Wednesday.

Murtha, whose own plan for withdrawing troops has attracted about 35 Democratic co-sponsors, shot back at the critics: "We're not in charge. They're in charge."

Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., rejected the notion that the Democratic Party appears weak without presenting its own plan for Iraq. "It's a sign of strength that we're having this conversation," Ford said.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., who is seeking a more moderate approach based on conditions in Iraq, dismissed the idea that House Democrats are divided on Iraq.

"We are not split. The American people want us to have a strategic redeployment out of Iraq," she said. "The president doesn't have that plan. Our answer is change the course."

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