Bush Presses Democrats On Iraq Bill

Warning that the troops should not be caught in the middle of the war policy debate, President Bush on Monday accused Democrats of promoting legislation that would undercut the forces in Iraq, CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer reports.

"Listen, I understand Republicans and Democrats in Washington have differences over the best course in Iraq," Mr. Bush said from the White House. "That's healthy. That's normal, and we should debate those differences. But our troops should not be caught in the middle."

He called on Congress to put partisanship on hold by sending him a bill that does not set a withdrawal deadline.

"We should not legislate defeat in this vital war," Mr. Bush said.

Surrounded by families of veterans, Mr. Bush sought to set expectations for his meeting Wednesday with congressional leaders of both parties. In particular, he sought to pressure Democratic lawmakers to fund the war without trying to limit or wind down the military mission.

"That's what we're supposed to do — we're supposed to talk out our differences," Mr. Bush said. "I'm looking forward to the meeting. I hope the Democratic leadership will drop their unreasonable demands for a precipitous withdrawal."

Both the House and Senate have passed bills to both fund the war and start drawing troops home. They are expected this to week to begin negotiating a final version to send to the president. He has pledged to veto it if it is not stripped of the provisions he opposes.

Responded Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: "Vice President (Dick) Cheney, President Bush refuse to listen or acknowledge the other voices. They are isolated in their thinking, and are failing our troops and our country."

Reid indicated he would be just as stubborn during Wednesday's meeting with the president.

"The offer is that the president sign the bill," he said.

Mr. Bush spoke in the orate East Room surrounded by mothers and fathers, husbands and wives and sons and daughters of U.S. troops who have been killed in Iraq. Members of military service support organizations filled out the crowd.

The president said he would deliver their message to Congress — as he put it, U.S. troops "want to finish the job."

"The families gathered here understand that we are a nation at war," Mr. Bush said. "Like me, they wish we weren't at war, but we are. They know that the enemies who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, want to bring further destruction to our country."

The president's remarks Monday kicked off a weeklong drive to sway public opinion. He'll discuss Iraq in Ohio and Michigan later this week, CBS News correspondent Susan Roberts reports.

Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, responded that Mr. Bush and Republican congressional leaders have abandoned efforts to hold the Iraqi people and government accountable.

"As they rush to embrace the Bush plan for more of the same in Iraq, the Republican policy is to make U.S troops bear the full burden of the war on their shoulders," Emanuel said.

Vice President Dick Cheney said over the weekend that Democrats ultimately will give in on the issue.

"I think the Congress will pass clean legislation," Cheney told in an interview broadcast Sunday. "I don't think that the majority of the Democrats in Congress want to leave America's fighting forces in harm's way without the resources they need to defend themselves."