Republicans revolt against Iraq surge

The White House is to review its Iraq strategy earlier than planned because of a growing backlash by Republicans who have run out of patience and want US troops brought home. President Bush had been hoping he had until at least September before debate began on whether his "surge" strategy, in which 30,000 extra US troops were sent to Iraq, was working. But the White House is alarmed by the sudden loss of confidence among Republicans who returned to Congress on July 9 after a short recess. The senate began discussion, expected to last until the end of the month, on a new round of funding for the Iraq War. The intense, internal debate inside the White House comes as the US commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, cautioned that there was no quick fix and said that fighting the insurgency was a "long-term endeavor" that could take possibly decades. In an interview with the BBC, he warned that US forces were engaged in a "tough fight" which will get "harder before it gets easier." His bleak assessment came as pressure grew in Washington for an early withdrawal. The danger for the White House is if disenchanted Republicans join forces with Democrats in Congress to set limits or a timetable. Three Republican senators have broken ranks in the last fortnight. A fourth, Susan Collins, admitted on July 9 that there had been "a steady erosion for the president's policy" because of the "tremendous loss of life among our troops" in June and "the failure of the Iraqi government to pursue the political reforms that are necessary to quell the sectarian violence." Petraeus, and the US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, are to report to Congress in September on whether the surge has produced progress. A separate report on whether the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has met any of 18 benchmarks set for him earlier this year is to go to Congress this weekend.