WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some Democrats said they were encouraged by changes to a proposed resolution authorizing military action against Iraq, but said the measure needs more
massaging before it would win broad support in the Senate.
"We have, in my view, come some distance," Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Thursday night, after the administration agreed to scale back the resolution.
"We got a long way to go before that can be achieved."
The draft, Daschle said, would come to the floor for debate next week.
Thursday night, White House and congressional staffers scaled back the resolution, dropping language some members of Congress feared could give President Bush
too much power.
The new draft eliminates language from the original White House proposal that granted Bush the authority to "restore international peace and security in the region."
Instead, the resolution now grants Bush the power to use U.S. military force to defend U.S. national security and to enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Before taking action, Bush would have to notify the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate that "reliance on further diplomatic means alone
will not adequately protect the national security of the United States." In addition, he would have to report back to Congress on the crisis every 90 days.
The document includes new clauses urging the United Nations to "decisively ensure" Iraqi compliance with Security Council resolutions requiring it to give up weapons
of mass destruction and supporting Bush's efforts to work toward a consensus in the world body.
Democrats and some Republicans had expressed concern that the White House's original resolution, which would have granted Bush the authority to act to secure
peace and security in the Persian Gulf region, was too open-ended.
"I think that there is a great deal of interest in delineating more specifically what the White House would be empowered to do under this resolution, and I think it is also
in our interest in insuring that we have exhausted our other options, working with the United Nations, working in a multi-lateral fashion," Daschle said Thursday
evening, after emerging from a closed-door meeting of his caucus where Democrats discussed the draft.
But Senate Republicans, who met simultaneously down the hallway in the Capitol, embraced the new language.
"I think we have reached a point where there is good language, and we should go forward with it," Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott said.
Work on the draft has been complicated by partisan anger over what Democrats feel is the Bush administration's effort to exploit the possibility of Iraq for political
gain.
Thursday, Bush appeared to back away from comments earlier in the week, saying that "the security of our country is the commitment of both political parties."
Monday, Bush, talking about the fight over homeland security legislation, had said that the Senate -- controlled by Democrats -- was "not interested in the security of
the American people."
Senate Democrats described their meeting Thursday as "emotional," where "frustration" was expressed over feeling powerless that their concerns would not be
addressed.
Many Democrats believe Congress is moving too fast and the current resolution still gives Bush too much authority to use force without exhausting diplomatic efforts
and international support.
"This proposal is unacceptable. The administration has been talking about war in Iraq for quite some time now," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin. "Surely they
had the time to draft a more careful, thoughtful proposal than the irresponsibly broad and sweeping language that they sent to Congress."
But a number Democrats said they support the current draft and are hoping for swift action.
"I think it's a strong resolution and deserves bipartisan support, and I believe it may be changed more but I believe as presented now it would get broad bipartisan
support," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Connecticut.
Two Democratic senators told CNN that Daschle made it clear to his colleagues the current draft was about as far as the White House will go to change it.
Administration officials and Senate Republicans too said they viewed the draft as "take it or leave it."
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Michigan, and other Senate Democrats are planning to try to offer alternative resolutions on the Senate floor that
would require U.N. action before Bush is allowed to use the U.S. military.
Bush sounded a conciliatory note Thursday night, telling a crowd in Houston, Texas, that "there are fine senators from both parties who care deeply about our
country." He also referred to Saddam as "the guy who tried to kill my dad."
So it's political and personal.
Al |
