11 Republicans back Iraq rebuke

WASHINGTON — In a striking display of dissension, a group of Republican lawmakers broke ranks with the White House on Wednesday and embraced a resolution opposing more U.S. troops in Iraq -- airing their criticism even as President Bush publicly defended his plan.

Bush questioned the message that expected House approval of the nonbinding resolution would send, saying at a news conference: "People are watching what happens here in America. The enemy listens to what's happening. The Iraqi people listen to the words

Undaunted, 11 GOP lawmakers, including normally staunch Bush allies who represent districts he carried in his presidential campaigns, took to the House floor to express their support for a Democratic-sponsored resolution renouncing Bush's decision to add 21,500 troops to the roughly 135,000 already in Iraq.

The Republicans complained that the U.S. military finds itself in the middle of a civil war, that the Iraqis haven't done enough to make their country safe and that a "surge" in diplomacy -- not troops -- is needed.

"The Iraqis don't want us there," said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). "We're viewed as part of the problem, not the solution."

Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.) likened the U.S. mission in Iraq to dealing with a neighbor who refuses to mow his lawn.

"You mow his lawn for him every single week. The neighbor never says thank you, he hates you, and sometimes he takes out a gun and shoots at you," he said. "Under these circumstances, would you keep mowing his lawn forever?"

The House is scheduled to vote Friday on the resolution, which is likely to pass with virtually unanimous support from the chamber's 233 Democrats and backing from 20 to 30 -- and perhaps more -- of its 201 Republicans. What remains unclear is how many GOP war critics will get behind the next step in the debate -- Democratic efforts to go beyond symbolic opposition to Bush's pursuit of his Iraq policy.

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) is set today to announce a strategy for imposing limits on Bush's ability to carry out the troop increase.

Murtha, chairman of the appropriations defense subcommittee, is expected to propose tying funding for the deployment to requiring that every unit sent to Iraq meet strict readiness standards of training and equipment -- standards often sidestepped now, at a time when the military has been stretched thin.