President Bush is telling lawmakers that he will send thousands more US troops to Iraq’s two most troubled regions, but before he can unveil the plan it is facing stiff challenges from Congress’ majority Democrats. Bush on Wednesday will announce a new war strategy, and has decided to call for 20,000 additional troops, said Senator Gordon Smith, who was among more than 30 senators briefed by the president on Monday.The extra forces would be sent to Baghdad, which has been consumed by sectarian violence, and the western Anbar Province, a base of the mostly Sunni insurgency and foreign al-Qaeda fighters, said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.A day before Bush’s televised speech describing his proposal, Senator Edward Kennedy, a longtime critic of Bush and the war, will propose legislation denying him the billions needed to send more troops to war unless Congress agrees first. Though it was unclear whether the bill would ever reach the full Senate, it could at least serve as a rallying point for the most insistent foes of the Iraq conflict.Democrats seem divided on whether to block funds for troop increase, but many were not ruling it out. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats would “look at everything” in their power to curb the war, short of cutting money for troops already in the field.The bill by Kennedy is guaranteed to fuel the debate among lawmakers on how far they should go to try to force the president’s hand on the unpopular war.Under the Constitution, the president has broad war-making powers, while Congress controls spending. Democratic leaders have swiftly rejected any suggestion of withholding money from troops already in combat zones.Kennedy says his plan would prevent additional troops from being sent and not stop the flow of money to troops in the field now. If brought to the floor by Democratic leaders, Kennedy’s proposal would force Republicans to put themselves on record regarding the war for the first time since the November 7 elections, when the GOP lost control of Congress. —ANNE FLAHERTY
