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Thursday, February 01, 2007
Dodd breaks with Democratic leaders, blasts Iraq resolution
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Senate resolution that would express members' disapproval of President Bush's plan to send more than 21,000 additional troops to Iraq drew fire Thursday from a Democratic presidential hopeful, who called it too weak to win his support.

"Despite this resolution that may pass, the White House has no intention of paying any attention to what we're suggesting here," Sen. Christopher Dodd told reporters. "If that's the case, then why not force them to pay some attention to what we say up here? This is the United States Senate. This is not a city council somewhere."

Dodd, D-Connecticut, has proposed binding legislation that would cap the number of troops in Iraq at current levels. But Democratic leaders have thrown their support behind a non-binding measure that states the Senate "disagrees" with Bush's troop increase, already being implemented.

The leadership's decision, announced Wednesday, builds critical momentum for a proposal backed by Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia., the influential former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee -- and increases the chances that the measure can earn the 60 votes needed to shut down a possible filibuster. It also sidelines a more strongly worded resolution backed by two Democratic committee chairmen, Carl Levin of Armed Services and Joe Biden of Foreign Relations.

At a closed-door meeting of Democratic senators Tuesday, a "strong consensus" developed that Democrats should back the Warner measure, according to Sen. Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber. The deal was sealed after Warner agreed to add language from a number of competing resolutions to his own -- including a paragraph stating that Congress should avoid cutting funding for the troops.

Warner also agreed to add a list of benchmarks the Iraqi government must meet, borrowing much of the language from a competing resolution written by Sen. John McCain and other supporters of the increase. The changes "moved us forward," Durbin said.

But Dodd and another prominent anti-war Democrat, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, said they opposed the move. In a written statement Thursday, Feingold said the Warner resolution "misunderstands the situation in Iraq and shortchanges our national security interests."

"The resolution rejects redeploying U.S. troops and supports moving a misguided military strategy from one part of Iraq to another," said Feingold, who wants U.S. troops to start leaving Iraq. "The American people have rejected the president's Iraq strategy, and it's time for Congress to end our military involvement in this war."

And Dodd said, "I'd rather there be 50 votes or 45 votes for something meaningful that sends a clear message than 80 votes for something that has less value at this point."
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