Bush war plan draws fire on Capitol Hill

Bush war plan draws fire on Capitol Hill
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 55 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq_211

President Bush's new plan to send more troops to Iraq is getting a chilly reception in Congress. Skeptical lawmakers say they don't believe the Iraqis are up to the challenge.

During a series of Capitol Hill hearings Thursday on Bush's plan, top administration officials took a beating from Democrats and some Republicans who said they were not convinced the latest strategy represents a change in U.S. military policy in Iraq.

The new strategy was slammed as desperate and even dumb, and many expressed frustration that there was no stated time limit on the build-up or a defined threat that the U.S. would pull out if the Iraqis don't perform as promised.

"The idea that we should add more military force to enable a political solution that they cannot articulate and, frankly, we don't believe that they really intend to do, is just folly," Rep. Ellen Tauscher (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., told Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during an afternoon House Armed Services hearing.

Republicans often were equally sharp in their comments.

More at link.