WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut says the addition of troops to Baghdad requires a new congressional authorization.
"The authorization that Congress (gave the president) ... before going into war in 2003 is no longer relevant in my view at all, and should not be relied upon for this escalation," Dodd told reporters Wednesday.
Dodd opposes President George W. Bush's latest plan to add 21,500 additional troops, most of them to Baghdad, over the next few months.
He introduced a resolution Tuesday that would cap the number of troops in Iraq as of January 15th or 16th -- roughly 132,000. Any additional troops would require prior authorization by the Congress. The resolution does not restrict any funds.
Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Ted Kennedy has introduced legislation that would restrict funding for troops beyond the number now deployed. That is dicer politically as those who vote for the measure can be portrayed as not supporting the troops.
"Rather than getting into a debate about the money at this point, we felt this was a cleaner way to go. It was clear," Dodd said.
"This is not a time for senators, in my view, to simply declare our individual opposition to this plan. It is time we accept our obligations and offer meaningful action to stop this proposal," Dodd said.
Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia last year suggested that if the war in Iraq tipped into a civil war, he would consider a new authorization of military force.
Dodd said he believes the original authorization no longer applies because it specifically focused on weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein, neither of which are relevant any longer.
