Murtha charts plan to require troop cuts

(02-16) 04:00 PST Washington -- One of the most powerful congressional critics of the Iraq war spelled out in detail how House Democrats plan to force President Bush to reduce the U.S. military commitment in Iraq in the months ahead after today's vote opposing Bush's plan to send more combat troops into the war.

Rep. John Murtha's comments Thursday showed House Democrats intend to quickly escalate their efforts to confront the Republican president over his war policy after the scheduled vote on a nonbinding resolution opposing Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

With the House poised to take its first anti-war vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he plans a Saturday session -- delaying a scheduled Presidents Day recess -- to try to break a partisan deadlock and force a vote in his chamber on the House resolution.

Murtha, D-Pa., the chairman of the House panel that oversees the military's spending, also said he plans legislation that would force the president to seek the authorization of Congress before widening the war to Iran. Murtha said he also would put conditions on the president's request for $100 billion more to pay for the war this year that would require more time between deployments for military units, more equipment and better training.

The requirements, should they become law, would force the administration to slow the pace of troop deployments and, Murtha said, would lead to a cut in the number of U.S. military units in Iraq.

The legislation "would force the administration to consider alternatives'' for its current policies in Iraq, he said.

'Congress should assert itself'

Murtha's position on Iran was supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said in an interview with the Associated Press that Bush lacks the authority to invade Iran without specific approval from Congress.

The San Francisco Democrat emphasized, however, that the president has consistently said he wants a diplomatic resolution to differences with Iran "and I take him at his word."

But she added, "I do believe that Congress should assert itself, though, and make it very clear that there is no previous authority for the president, any president, to go into Iran."

Murtha, 74, a close ally of Pelosi's, is a decorated former Marine known among his colleagues as a powerful advocate for the military. His decision in late 2005 to turn against the war and call for U.S. forces to be withdrawn is seen as a major turning point for congressional attitudes toward the war.

Republicans seized on Murtha's comments to say that Democrats are being disingenuous in this week's debate by claiming they support U.S. troops and will never cut off funds for their operations. Instead, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Democrats plan to choke off funds for the troops and the war, which he said would give terrorists a victory against the United States.

Murtha said that in mid-March he plans to push legislation through his committee that would make it harder for the Bush administration to send military units back to Iraq by requiring more rest between deployments and certifying that they meet training and equipment standards. He also wants to end "stop loss'' orders, the practice of keeping soldiers on active duty past their enlistment commitments.

Together, Murtha said in an online interview with MoveCongress.org, part of the Win Without War Coalition, these three conditions alone could force sharp changes in the war by choking off manpower for the overstretched military. "This (war) cannot be sustained under these circumstances,'' he said.

He also said he will attach conditions to the spending bill that would ban permanent U.S. bases in Iraq and is considering trying to order the gradual closing of the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

A dangerous course, says Boehner

With the anti-escalation resolution sure to pass the House today with near-unanimous Democratic support and up to 60 GOP votes, Boehner said the new House majority was embarking on a dangerous course.

"House Democrats have called their nonbinding resolution on Iraq a 'first step,' '' Boehner said. "Today, Rep. Murtha is unveiling the next step: a plan to cut off funding for troops in harm's way by making sure the reinforcements they need to complete their mission in Iraq never arrive.

''While American troops are fighting radical Islamic terrorists thousands of miles away, it is unthinkable that the United States Congress would move to discredit their mission, cut off their reinforcements, and deny them the resources they need to succeed and return home safely,'' he said.

At the White House, Bush spokesman Tony Snow said, "We think it's essential to make sure that we give the troops what they need to succeed.''

Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, said Murtha's ideas will pass the House.

"The conditions Mr. Murtha is preparing I believe will be conditions the majority of the House will support. But we'll get to that bridge when we cross it,'' said Lantos, the Foreign Affairs Committee chairman who is a co-sponsor of the nonbinding resolution scheduled for a vote today.

E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein@....