Bush Iraq plan remains a hard sell on Capitol Hill

President Bush's troop buildup plan for Iraq received a strong endorsement from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Friday as Defense Secretary Robert Gates renewed his uphill quest for congressional acceptance of the initiative in an appearance before a divided Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I believe these moves will give the Iraqis and Americans the best chance of success," McCain, a long-time advocate for increased troop strength in Iraq, said during the committee hearing. McCain went on the offensive against Democrats who favor a drawdown of troops from Iraq within the next several months.

"I believe these individuals ... have a responsibility to tell us what they believe are the consequences of withdrawal ...," he said. "If we walk away from Iraq, we will be back, possibly in the context of a wider war in the world's most volatile region."

Gates warned the panel that the failure of Bush's stepped-up bid to check the violence in Iraq could lead to a general "conflagration" in the Middle East as well as the emboldening of Iran, the creation of a safe haven for jihadist groups in the Middle East and a "humiliating defeat" for the United States in the war against terrorism.

"Mistakes certainly have been made by the United States in Iraq," said Gates, who was accompanied by Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "However we got to the moment, the stakes are now incalculable."

The secretary's presentation left panel Democrats unimpressed. "Increasing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is a flawed strategy because it is based on the flawed premise that there is a military solution to the violence and instability in Iraq, when what is needed is a political solution among Iraqi leaders and factions," said Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich.

Pace acknowledged that there was no guarantee that Iraqi government officials would fulfill their end of he bargain in the attempt to end sectarian strife. But he said that "if they do what they say they will do, then this will succeed."

Bush, meanwhile, sought support for his Iraq troop initiative in telephone calls to Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said they discussed the situation in Iraq as well as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip this weekend to the Middle East. One key Armed Services Committee member was absent from Friday's hearing.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., was on a fact-finding trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with two other members of Congress -- Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y. Clinton has argued that additional troops should be going to Afghanistan, not Iraq. "We are hearing troubling reports out of Afghanistan ...," she said late Thursday, alluding to the resurgence of Taliban military activity.