Senate panel leader weighs Iraq options as general opposes deadlines

Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, R-Va., on Wednesday reiterated his concerns that the United States is making little progress in Iraq, stressing that a series of hearings and reviews over the next month will be critical to devising a new strategy for the ongoing war.

Stating once again that the United States is moving "sideways" in Iraq, Warner urged lawmakers to be "ever mindful of the daily loss of life" and acknowledged establishing a sovereign Iraq is a "very challenging situation."

Warner, speaking at a committee hearing to get the latest assessment from Army Gen. John Abizaid, the regional commander of all U.S. forces in Iraq, stopped short of recommending a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq -- but also did not come out against it as some of his Republican colleagues did earlier this week.

Instead, he urged colleagues to "carefully study" the findings of the independent and bipartisan Iraq Study Group, as well as conclusions from a military-led review of Iraq, before reaching any conclusions on the future strategy for Iraq.

Abizaid on Wednesday warned against any sort of timetable for troop withdrawal, but he left the door open for increasing the size of the U.S. force, saying all options were being studied by military planners. But he also noted that commanders he has spoken with advise against doing so and added that if any troops need to be added to critical areas such as Baghdad or Anbar Province, they should be Iraqi ones.

Abizaid also acknowledged that the U.S. military would have benefited from having a larger force in Iraq, as was urged by retired Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki in early 2003. "A greater force contribution ... should have been available immediately after major combat operations," he said.

The hearing, the first on the war in Iraq since last week's midterm congressional elections, provided a preview of how the powerful committee will operate under Democratic control. Democrats have taken their electoral win as a national consensus that the administration must change its Iraq strategy and plan to make the increasingly unpopular war a top priority.

Senate Armed Services ranking member Carl Levin, D-Mich., the panel's incoming chairman, on Wednesday continued his push for the Bush administration to begin pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq four to six months after formally notifying Iraq that the Americans are leaving. Iraqis, Levin said, must take control of their own country. "We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves," he said.

Levin's view on Iraq differs sharply from that of Armed Services Airland Subcommittee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who has recommended increasing U.S. military presence in Iraq to bring Baghdad under control. But the two men do agree that the administration must change its strategy. McCain on Wednesday chided Abizaid, stating that he was "disappointed you're advocating the status quo."

McCain later added that the midterm elections demonstrated voters' discontent with the war. Staying the course in Iraq is "not an acceptable position," McCain said.