Frustration with the war is eroding support in Republican as well as
Democratic camps.
Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
said two Republicans have told him they will demand a new policy in Iraq after
the election. Biden declined to name the GOP lawmakers. He said Republicans have
been told not to make waves before the election because it could cost the party
seats. Yet some prominent GOP lawmakers have expressed doubts about Bush's
policy.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the United States was continually
adjusting its strategy in Iraq.
"In that sense there are new things going on. But are there dramatic shifts
in policy? The answer is no," Snow said.
"There is still a very large to-do list before Iraq is in a position to
sustain, govern and defend itself," he said.
"Are we issuing ultimatums? No."
He acknowledged, however, that Bush no longer is saying that the United
States will "stay the course" in Iraq.
"He stopped using it," Snow said of that phrase, adding that it left the
impression that the administration was not adjusting its strategy to realities
in Baghdad.
Showing progress in Iraq is critical with the approaching elections, which
are widely viewed as a referendum on public support of the war. In Baghdad on
Tuesday, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. George Casey,
the top US commander there, are scheduled to hold a rare joint news conference.
Facing growing impatience with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's failure to
stem the carnage, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said international forces
must not abandon Iraq while the situation there remains volatile.
"I do believe there is no option for the international community to cut and
run," he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister
Tony Blair in
London. He said Iraqis and the international community need to be realistic,
"but not defeatist."
"We need to understand that there is a need of utmost urgency to deal with
many of the problems of Iraq but we must not give in to panic," he said.
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