Congress Seeking Bush's Iraq Strategy [View All]

[kskiska]

Lawmakers Express Nation's Growing Unease

Returning members of Congress yesterday reported growing concern among their constituents about the turmoil and casualties in Iraq, signaling more pressure from Capitol Hill for President Bush to spell out his strategy for gaining control of the postwar situation.

Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, reflecting a sense of anxiety heard by members of both parties, said he wants to "combat a sense of drift" about U.S. policy in Iraq and bring in more international assistance.

Most of the half-dozen senators interviewed yesterday said they sensed mounting unease over the series of bombings in Iraq and the continuing loss of American lives. But few reported any demands for an American pullback.

"Mainly, people want reassurance that the administration knows what it's doing," said Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), "that things are going better than CNN would have us believe."

(snip)

Some Democrats described the anxiety level at home in starker terms. "There's a real deep concern now," said Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. (S.C.). "People are wondering how much this will cost in money and lives and how are we gonna get out of there? I had one teacher say, 'We've got a tar baby on our hands.' "

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16990-2003Sep2.html