Senators, from left, John Warner, R-Va., Norm Coleman, R-Minn., Susan Collins, R-Maine and Ben Nelson, D-Neb. take part in a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Monday, Jan. 22, 2007 on an Iraq War resolution. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
By DAVID ESPO AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON Jan 23, 2007 (AP) Congressional Republicans pushed back Monday against President Bush's decision to increase troop strength in Iraq, some voicing opposition while others urged holding the administration and Iraqi government more accountable for the war effort.
"We've had four other surges since we first went into Iraq," said Sen. Susan Collins, referring to the administration's plan for an additional 21,500 troops. "None of them produced a long-lasting change in the situation on the ground.
"So I am very skeptical that this surge would produce the desired outcome," said the Maine Republican.
In the Senate, Collins joined two Republicans and one Democrat to unveil nonbinding legislation expressing disagreement with Bush's plan. The president should consider "all options and alternatives" involving a smaller force, the measure said.
In the House, members of the leadership drafted a series of what they called "strategic benchmarks," and said the White House should submit monthly reports to Congress measuring progress.
The developments occurred on the eve of Bush's State of the Union address, and as Democrats pointed toward votes in the House and Senate on bills declaring that the troop increase is "not in the national interest of the United States."
Republicans have struggled to respond in the two weeks since Bush outlined his new strategy. Though aware that the war played a role in the GOP defeat in last fall's elections, most have been unwilling to abandon a president of their own party.
Both the Senate legislation and the action taken by the House Republican leaders are softer than the legislation that majority Democrats intend to place for a vote. But they also represent a more forceful response to the long and deadly war than the GOP offered while it held the majority in Congress.
More than 3,000 U.S. troops have been killed in the war, including 27 over the weekend and one more on Monday.
Democrats intend to make the war a part of their formal response to Bush's nationally televised speech, tapping Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, a Vietnam veteran and former Republican Navy secretary, to speak.
Lundi, John Warner (républicain), qui fut secrétaire à la Marine et président du comité des forces armées du Sénat américain, Susan Collins (républicaine) Norm Coleman (républicain) et  Ben Nelson (démocrate) ont indiqué qu'ils introduiraient une résolution afin d'empêcher l'envoi de 21 500 soldats supplémentaires en '''Irak'''.

Susan Collins a déclaré : 

John Warner a lui dit que : 

Ben Nelson a indiqué :