WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The White House has declined to criticize a proposed Senate resolution opposing a troop increase in Iraq, but cautioned on its possible ramifications.
The non-binding resolution planned for introduction soon is by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden, D-Del.; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., head of the Senate Armed Services Committee; and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.
It is expected to propose alternatives to the president's new Iraq strategy for sending an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq to help quell violence in Baghdad and surrounding areas and give the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki time to take charge of the security situation and implement steps to help bring reconciliation between warring ethnic groups.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the House of Representatives are weighing the possibility of blocking or curtailing funding for the proposed troop increase.
"The one thing the president has said, 'whatever you do, make sure you support the troops,'" spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday. "And the question people who support this resolution will have to ask, is how does this support the troops?
"It's pretty clear that members of both parties are keenly aware" that they would have to answer to the public, he said.
Snow, who made the remarks in answer to a question about the possible effect of such a resolution on the morale of troops in Iraq and their families, said more definitive comment would come once the resolution was introduced.
