GOP Leader Threatens Filibuster On Iraq

President Bush's decision to deploy 21,500 additional troops to Iraq drew fierce opposition Thursday from congressional Democrats, but the Senate's top Republican threatened a filibuster to block any legislation expressing disapproval of the plan.

"Obviously, it will ... require 60 votes," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as senior administration officials made the case for Mr. Bush's new policy in Congress, at news briefings and the morning television programs.

"This is a time for a national imperative not to fail in Iraq," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

On the morning after Bush's primetime speech from the White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., declared: "In choosing to escalate the war, the president virtually stands alone."

Many Republicans, too, were clearly tired of the war, which has cost more than 3,000 American troops their lives, and played a major role in the Democratic takeover of Congress in last fall's elections.

"At this late stage, interjecting more young American troops into the crossfire of an Iraqi civil war is simply not the right approach," said Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla. "We are not going to solve an Iraqi political problem with an American military solution," he said in remarks on the House floor.

At a news conference, McConnell accused Democrats of secretly favoring a plan to cut off funding for the troops — an allegation that Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. denied.

McConnell conceded that Republicans as well as Democrats are troubled by Mr. Bush's new policy, but said, "Congress is completely incapable of dictating the tactics of the war."

Reid has said he will schedule a vote on a nonbinding bill expressing disapproval of Mr. Bush's new policy, but McConnell's filibuster threat indicated that he would not be rushed into the vote. Under the Senate's rules, 60 votes are required to cut off debate on an issue, and even the threat of a filibuster can force concessions by the majority.

McConnell's threat underscored that at least some GOP leaders are still willing to stand up for the president in the battle over Iraq policy. Even so, Democrats would achieve their goal of forcing senators to show their positions on the war whether the Senate votes on the resolution itself or a GOP effort to block it.

Mr. Bush's new strategy, announced Wednesday in a primetime address to the nation, increases U.S. forces in Iraq by 21,500 and demands greater cooperation from the Iraqi government.

Options for critics of the war were limited; Democratic leaders have mulled such a resolution of disapproval and there also has been talk of attaching a host of conditions to approval of a spending bill to cover the costs of the buildup.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he could not say just how long the buildup would last. "It's viewed as a temporary surge, but I think no one has a really clear idea of how long that might be," Gates told a White House briefing.

But he also said the United States should know pretty soon whether Iraqis were living up to their part of the deal and increasing their own forces.

In her opening remarks, Rice acknowledged widespread concerns about the war that has gone on almost four years and cost more than 3,000 American military lives.

"I want you to know that I understand and indeed feel the heartbreak that Americans feel at the continued sacrifice of American lives, men and women who can never be replaced for their families, and for the concern of our men and women who are still in harm's way," she said.

But Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden of Delaware told her: "Secretary Rice, to be very blunt, I cannot in good conscience support the president's approach."

In a tense exchange, Biden, D-Del., pressed Rice to say whether she was confident that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had the capability to provide enough Iraq troops to help in stabilizing the country.

"I think he knows that his government is in a sense on borrowed time," she said.

Biden persisted, asking her again if she was confident al-Maliki would live up to his end of the bargain. "I'm confident," she said.

Meanwhile, after a meeting at the White House, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., expressed both doubts and optimism about the strategy.

"I am concerned about Maliki and his strength. I am concern as to whether these are sufficient number of troops," he said. "But I do think we can succeed."

McCain, a 2008 presidential contender, has been among a handful of lawmakers who have called for more — not fewer — U.S. troops in Iraq.

In her testimony, Rice stressed Iraqi obligations for troops, money and the political will to allow the Bush plan to succeed. She promised oversight, without giving specifics.

"Iraqis are in the lead; we are supporting them," Rice said.

Asked if the new U.S. and Iraqi offensive would go after Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-U.S. radical Shiite cleric, Gates said, "All lawbreakers are susceptible to being detained or taken care of in this campaign." Sadr is a key ally of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Meanwhile, a coalition of labor, anti-war groups and liberal organizations was announcing a multimillion-dollar advertising and grass-roots campaign against the commitment of extra troops.

According to a new CBS News poll, following President Bush's speech, 68 percent of Americans — the same number as prior to the speech — said they were uneasy about the president's ability to make decisions about Iraq.