Bush returns to the fray

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush, after a weekend at his Texas ranch, returned to the nation's capital Monday to rejoin the fray with Congress over Iraq and terrorism-related measures.

Negotiations between Republican and Democratic legislators and the White House were continuing over wording of a proposed resolution on Iraq that would grant the president broad discretionary power to deal with Iraq and suspected weapons of mass destruction.

The measure could be the subject of floor debate as early as the end of the week.

The White House has asked for the measure -- which it says it does not legally need -- before Congress adjourns next month in preparation for midterm elections. A congressional resolution, according to the Bush administration, would be a powerful symbol of unity and would send a message to Iraq that it must disarm any weapons of mass destruction and adhere to U.N. resolutions it has agreed to -- or face military force.

"I don't know about the end of the week," a House source told United Press International, "but there has been plenty of staff meetings with Republicans and Democrats and the White House and things are moving forward."

Both Democrats and Republicans predict the president would get the resolution he desires, but wording in the draft the White House sent to congressional leaders earlier this month could be changed to make it more Iraq-specific. Doing so would allay fears that the resolution could be broadly interpreted to allow Bush to take military action elsewhere in the region.

"The president is authorized to use all means that he determines to be appropriate, including force, in order to enforce the United Nations Security Council resolution, ... defend the national security interests of the United States against the threat posed by Iraq, and restore international peace and security in the region," the White House draft says.

It is the last phrase that some objected to.

Partisan acrimony between the White House and Democrats erupted last week after Bush -- speaking about homeland security legislation -- said some senators were paying more attention to special interests than American interests. However, the controversy that erupted was not expected to derail or stall the measure for military action, especially in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

"I think there is more bluster than bite there," the House source said.

Bush has argued that Iraq's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction poses a definite threat to peace. He has called on the United Nations to act, but has said the United States would go to war with its allies if there is no U.N. backing for military action.

In Baghdad Sunday, however, three U.S. congressmen -- David Bonior, D-Mich., Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and Mike Thompson, D-Calif. -- criticized Bush's Iraq policy and said the White House was trying to provoke war.

Saddam's latest offer to allow a return of international weapons inspectors to the country should be taken up, they said, and not just dismissed as a ruse.

Also this week, U.S. and British negotiators are trying to sell a draft Security Council resolution on Iraq to France, China and Russia, which are opposed to military action.

The most acrimonious subject in Washington for the president this week continues to be the homeland security bill, which is stalled in the Senate in a fracas over union rights for about 45,000 of the 170,000 projected employees of a new Department of Homeland Security.

The president has vowed to veto any bill that does not allow the administration to exempt some employees from collective bargaining for national security reasons, a power other presidents have enjoyed and which Bush has with many other federal agencies.