The USA Today/Gallup poll found that 53 percent of respondents now support sending U.S. troops to Iraq, compared with 74 percent who backed such a move in a survey last November.
Lines drawn in Iraq debate
Past GOP secretary of state fires shots at Rep. Tom DeLay and other fellow Republicans, calling them 'chest thumpers' for urging U.S. military action.
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
The debate among Republicans over how to handle Iraq continued Sunday, with a former foreign policy official suggesting that Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, was a "chest thumper" for urging aggressive action against Saddam Hussein.
Associated Press
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, speaks during a Houston Forum luncheon Wednesday about the need to invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein.
Lawrence Eagleburger, who was secretary of state for President Bush's father, disputed DeLay's contention, laid out in a speech last week in Houston, that those promoting a go-slow policy on Iraq were too timid.
The former State Department official, appearing on the CNN talk show Late Edition, said the White House needs to consider issues such as how long a military offensive would last, how much it would cost, and what kind of regime would replace Saddam.
"I say we need to be very careful about going forward until we understand how complex the whole issue is," Eagleburger said. "And Tom DeLay will be the first at some point down the line, screaming about how much this costs and how we've gotten ourselves into a semi-Vietnam situation because we didn't think through all the possibilities."
Eagleburger took offense at DeLay's description of critics of military action against Iraq, both within the United States and elsewhere, as "architects of complacency."
"I am simply saying this is more complex than he and his chest thumpers think it is," Eagleburger said.
DeLay, appearing on Fox News Sunday, held to his view that the United States has the capability to remove Saddam and should do so quickly.
While DeLay in his speech Wednesday sought to counter critics, a number of them prominent Republicans who believe that Bush is moving too fast toward military action in Iraq, the House majority whip said he did not talk to anyone in the White House about it.
However, DeLay said he submitted a draft of the speech to administration officials several hours before he delivered it.
The House leader said he doesn't believe the Iraqi army would put up much resistance to a U.S.-led attack.
"I have every expectation that you'll see a huge surrender of troops, including his most elite troops as soon as we start moving," DeLay said.
Although the Texas Republican said he has faith in Bush's leadership on the issue, he also said the president needs to consult with Congress before taking action.
"He has said he's going to come to Congress when he decides what needs to be done and when it needs to be done, and I expect him to do that," DeLay said.
But DeLay disagreed with former Secretary of State James Baker who argued in a piece published in Sunday's New York Times that the Bush administration should work through the United Nations before launching an attack.
Baker, who also worked for Bush's father, is one of several veterans of former Republican administrations to offer advice on how to deal with Baghdad.
In the op-ed piece, Baker states that the United States should proceed militarily to oust Saddam, but adds that the Bush administration should first try to build international support.
"Although the United States could certainly succeed, we should try our best not to have to go it alone, and the president should reject the advice of those counseling doing so," Baker said. "The costs in all areas will be much greater, as will the political risks, both domestic and international, if we end up going it alone or with only one or two other countries."
Baker suggested that the White House seek a U.N. resolution requiring Iraq to submit to "intrusive inspections, anytime, anywhere, with no exceptions, and authorizing all necessary means to enforce it."
So far, many of the United States' traditional allies, including Canada, have made it clear that they are not prepared to join an invasion of Iraq.
Bush has repeatedly called for a regime change in Iraq, but has said he is weighing all options, including military invasion.
As the debate has intensified over how to deal with Saddam, public support for an invasion has been dropping, according to a poll released last Friday.
The USA Today/Gallup poll found that 53 percent of respondents now support sending U.S. troops to Iraq, compared with 74 percent who backed such a move in a survey last November. |
