Senate Republicans want debate on war

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans who earlier this week helped block deliberations on a resolution opposing President Bush’s new troop deployments in Iraq changed course Wednesday and vowed to use every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate.

In a letter distributed Wednesday evening to Senate leaders, John Warner of Virginia, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and five other GOP supporters of the resolution threatened to try to attach their measure to any bill sent to the floor in the coming weeks. Noting that the war is the “most pressing issue of our time,” the senators declared: “We will explore all of our options under the Senate procedures and practices to ensure a full and open debate on the Senate floor.”

The letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wasn’t more specific about the Republican senators’ strategy for reviving the stalled debate over the war. But under the Senate’s rules, individual members have wide latitude to slow the progress of legislation and to offer amendments, regardless of whether they have anything to do with the bill.

The letter began circulating Wednesday evening after it became apparent the Senate was deadlocked over the war resolution and Reid was prepared to move on to other matters.

“Monday’s procedural vote should not be interpreted as any lessening of our resolve to go forward advocating the concepts” of their resolution, the letter stated. “The current stalemate is unacceptable to us and to the people of this country.”

House Democratic leaders, meanwhile, are attempting to craft their own nonbinding expression of disapproval of Bush’s decision to send an additional 21,500 troops to battle, and intend to devote three days next week to debating it. Two top Pentagon leaders weighed in Wednesday on the war debate, and appeared to undercut the argument advanced by the White House and many Republican lawmakers that a congressional debate challenging the escalation would hurt troop morale.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the dialogue here in Washington strengthens our democracy. Period,” Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the House Armed Services Committee.

The Senate was poised to debate a bipartisan resolution opposing the additional troop deployment and calling for a diplomatic initiative to settle the conflict in Iraq before the Republicans raised procedural objections and defeated a motion to proceed with the debate.

Five of the seven Senate signatories to Wednesday’s letter – including Warner, the non-binding resolution’s chief author – had voted Monday to erect the procedural hurdle that is currently blocking the Senate debate from going forward, to pressure Democrats into allowing the consideration of several other non-binding measures, including two that were more supportive of the administration’s policy.