GOP Lawmakers Divided About 'Surge' in Troops

By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post

CRAWFORD, Tex., Dec. 31 -- Republican lawmakers appear uneasy about -- and in some cases outright dismissive of -- the idea of sending many more troops to Iraq, as President Bush contemplates such a "surge" as part of his new strategy for stabilizing the country.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), a leading GOP presidential contender for 2008, has been aggressively promoting a plan to send tens of thousands of additional troops to Iraq, and the idea has been gaining traction at the White House as a way to improve security in Baghdad.

But the proposition generates far less enthusiasm among rank-and-file Republicans, many of whom must face the voters again in 2008, presenting a potential obstacle for Bush as he hones the plan, according to lawmakers, aides and congressional analysts.

Two Senate Republicans with potentially tough reelection contests in 2008, Minnesota's Norm Coleman and Maine's Susan Collins, returned from recent trips to Iraq saying they did not think sending more troops was a good idea. Branding the U.S. war effort "absurd," Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) made waves in early December with a speech questioning the continued presence of troops.

And while other Republicans say they are open to the president's proposal, some made it clear that they will only be supportive if the troops have a coherent mission and the deployment is linked to a larger political strategy for reconciling feuding sects.

Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.), another possible presidential contender, said in an interview Saturday that he could favor more troops if they were a "precursor" to political stability. But he added: "A short-term buildup in troops, if it simply is to impose military order without the possibility of political equilibrium, that doesn't seem to me to be too farsighted."

(The rest is here.)