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Iraq

GOP demands vote on call for withdrawal

WASHINGTON - House Republicans pushed for swift rejection Friday of any notion of immediately pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, sparking a heated, sometimes personal debate over the war following a Democratic lawmaker's call for withdrawal.

A day after Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., called for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, Republicans brought a measure to the House floor urging that the pullout begin immediately.

With the symbolic vote - which was still being debated late Friday - Republicans called the Democrats' bluff, forcing them to support a withdrawal that most analysts say would be disastrous or oppose it and anger supporters who want an end to the conflict.

"We want to make sure that we support our troops that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will not retreat," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said of the nonbinding resolution.

Democrats tried to accuse the GOP of orchestrating a political stunt and changing the meaning of the proposal by Murtha, who has said a smooth withdrawal would take six months. Democrats said they planned to vote against the GOP provision en masse.

At one point in the emotional debate, Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel.

"He asked me to send Congress a message - stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message - that cowards cut and run, Marines never do," Schmidt said. Murtha is a 37-year Marine veteran.

Democrats booed and shouted at her - causing the House to come to a standstill.

Democrats gave Murtha, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, a standing ovation as he entered the chamber and took his customary corner seat.

The fireworks, as lawmakers rushed toward a two-week Thanksgiving break, came just days after the Senate defeated a Democratic push for Bush to lay out a timetable for withdrawal. Spotlighting questions from both parties about the war, senators approved a statement that 2006 should be a significant year in which conditions are created for the phased withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Murtha has proposed a resolution that would force the president to withdraw the nearly 160,000 troops in Iraq "at the earliest practicable date."

The GOP alternative simply said: "It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."

"This is a personal attack on one of the best members, one of the most respected members of this House, and it is outrageous," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Republicans dismissed the Democrats' claims.

"This is not a stunt," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "This is a legitimate question."

President Bush, traveling in Asia, also fired back at his critics, saying a troop withdrawal would be "a recipe for disaster."

Most Republicans oppose Murtha's call for withdrawal, and a number of Democrats also have been reluctant to back his position.

"Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency," Murtha said. "The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."

A U.S. field commander in Iraq disputed Murtha's claims.

"Here on the ground, our job is not done," said Col. James Brown, commander of the 56th Brigade Combat Team, when asked about Murtha's comments.

Information from the Associated Press and Washington Post was used in this report.

[Last modified November 19, 2005, 01:09:04]