Bush concedes over Iraq benchmarks

Bush concedes over Iraq benchmarks
By Andrew Ward in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: May 10 2007 23:33 | Last updated: May 10 2007 23:33

President George W. Bush on Thursday agreed to negotiate war-funding legislation that would set targets for progress in Iraq, amid mounting pressure from Democrats and Republicans over the war.

Mr Bush said it “makes sense” to establish benchmarks against which to measure efforts to bring stability to the strife-torn country.

The comments increased the chances of compromise with the Democratic-controlled Congress over continued funding for a war that is fast losing support on Capitol Hill.

Congress has been at loggerheads with the White House for weeks over Democratic efforts to place conditions on any additional funding for the war.

The House of Representatives on Thursday rejected legislation pushed by anti-war Democrats that would have required US withdrawal from Iraq within nine months.

But the House was poised to pass a bill that would guarantee funding for combat operations for only two more months, prompting a fresh vote on the war in July.

The House legislation, which Mr Bush has threatened to veto, is likely to be replaced by a compromise bill agreed by the Senate before being sent to the White House.

Democrats leaders have agreed to drop earlier demands for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq in return for setting tough benchmarks for progress.

“Time's running out, because the longer we wait the more strain we're going to put on the military,” said Mr Bush.

Mr Bush has looked increasingly isolated in recent days, as a growing number of Congressional Republicans have voiced doubts about the chances of US success in Iraq.

On Tuesday, a group of moderate Republican House members visited the White House to deliver a blunt warning about waning support for the war within Mr Bush’s own party.

Ray LaHood, one of the Republican lawmakers who attended the meeting, said he had never before heard a president addressed in such a “frank and no-holds-barred” way.

“I was very sober about it and he listened intently,” Mr LaHood told CNN. “He appreciated the fact that people were prepared to open up and give it to him.”

John Boehner, House minority leader, said earlier this week that Republicans would be looking for a “Plan B” if conditions have not improved by September, when military commanders are expected to assess whether US strategy is working.

"I think this president is more isolated than any president since Richard Nixon in his final days," Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said, referring to the US leader who resigned over the 1970s Watergate scandal.

Speaking after a briefing at the Pentagon, Mr Bush urged Congress to reserve judgment until the build-up of US troops ordered in January is completed next month.

"[The] plan ought to be given a chance to work," he said. "And we need to give the troops under his command the resources they need to prevail.

"We should be able to agree that the consequences of failure in Iraq would be disastrous for our country."

But he acknowledged that, in the short term, the "surge" strategy had increased rather than reduced violence. “As we have surged our forces, Al Qaeda is responding with their own surge,” he said. “We're also seeing high levels of violence because our forces are entering areas where terrorists and militia once had sanctuary.”