By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
Mar 25, 2007
WASHINGTON - With his go-it-alone approach on Iraq, President
Bush is flouting Congress and the public, so angering lawmakers
that some consider impeachment an option over his war policy,
a senator from Bush's own party said Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Senate's No. 2 Republican leader harshly criticized
House Democrats for setting an "artificial date" for
withdrawing troops from Iraq and said he believes Republicans
have enough votes to prevent passage of a similar bill in the
Senate.
"We need to put that kind of decision in the hands of
our commanders who are there on the ground with the men and
women," said Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record),
R-Miss. "For Congress to impose an artificial date of
any kind is totally irresponsible."
GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska,
a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent
critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush's impeachment.
But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option
should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against
the war.
"Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not
respond to what the people of this country are saying about
Iraq or anything else, or I don't care what the Congress does,
I am going to proceed — if a president really believes
that, then there are — what I was pointing out, there
are ways to deal with that," said Hagel, who is considering
a 2008 presidential run.
The Senate planned to begin debate Monday on a war spending
bill that would set a nonbinding goal of March 31, 2008, for
the removal of combat troops.
That comes after the House narrowly passed a bill Friday that
would pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year but would
require that combat troops come home from Iraq before September
2008 — or earlier if the Iraqi government did not meet
certain requirements.
On Sunday, Hagel said he was bothered by Bush's apparent disregard
of congressional sentiment on Iraq, such as his decision to
send additional troops. He said lawmakers now stood ready to
stand up to the president when necessary.
In the April edition of Esquire magazine, Hagel described
Bush as someone who doesn't believe he's accountable to anyone. "He's
not accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can
impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for
his impeachment. I don't know. It depends on how this goes," Hagel
told the magazine.
In his weekly address Saturday, Bush accused Democrats of
partisanship in the House vote and said it would cut the number
of troops below a level that U.S. military commanders say they
need. Vice President Dick Cheney also accused Democrats of
undermining U.S. troops in Iraq and of sending a message to
terrorists that America will retreat in the face danger.
"We have clearly a situation where the president has
lost the confidence of the American people in his war effort," Hagel
said. "It is now time, going into the fifth year of that
effort, for the Congress to step forward and be part of setting
some boundaries and some conditions as to our involvement."
"This is not a monarchy," he added, referring to
the possibility that some lawmakers may seek impeachment. "There
are ways to deal with it. And I would hope the president understands
that."
Lott said setting withdrawal dates is a futile and potentially
dangerous exercise because Bush has made clear he will veto
any such legislation.
"There are members in the Senate in both parties that
are not comfortable with how things have gone in Iraq," Lott
said. "But they understand that artificial timetables,
even as goals, are a problem...We will try to take out the
arbitrary dates."
Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record), D-Fla., said
the Senate bill seeks to heed the recommendations of the bipartisan
Iraq Study Group by setting a goal of withdrawing some troops
while leaving others behind to train the Iraqi army for border
patrol and other missions.
"That, combined with a very aggressive, diplomatic effort
in the region is what we're going to need to have," he
said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif.,
said she believed that setting a timetable was appropriate
but declined to predict whether it would garner enough Senate
votes to pass.
"People of this country have spoken overwhelmingly. It's
been constant now," Feinstein said. "They want us
out. It is time for the Senate to weigh in. I hope we will
have the votes."
Hagel spoke on ABC's "This Week," Feinstein and
Lott appeared on "Fox News Sunday," and Nelson was
on CNN's "Late Edition."
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