By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 10, 2007; 3:08 PM
President Bush said today he accepts the idea of including benchmarks for progress in Iraq as part of an emergency war spending bill, but he rejected what he called a "piecemeal" funding approach now under consideration in the House and vowed to veto it if it reaches his desk.
In a news conference at the Pentagon after receiving a briefing from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Bush leveled sharp criticism at congressional Democrats, accusing them of seeking political gain from the war-funding bill, and he warned them not to "hamstring" U.S. commanders in the field or include "pork" projects in the supplemental appropriations bill. Yet he also expressed a desire to find "common ground" with Congress.
Bush said he would miss British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who announced today that he is stepping down in late June, clearing the way for his likely replacement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. He said he looks forward to working with Brown and with the newly elected president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, both of whom he described as "engaging" political leaders.
After Bush last week carried out his threat to veto a $124 billion war-funding bill that contained a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, the House failed to override the veto and began working on a new formula that provides interim funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for two months.
The proposal by House Democrats would give Bush half the money he has requested for the war effort, with a vote in July on whether to approve the rest based on the Iraqi government's progress in meeting political and economic benchmarks. A vote on the proposal is expected in the House tonight.
Bush today warned lawmakers not to send him such bill, urging them to provide full funding without timetables or restrictions.
"Time's running out, because the longer we wait the more strain we're going to put on the military," he said in the news conference at the Pentagon.
"My message to the members of Congress is, whatever your beliefs may be, let's make sure our troops get funded," he said. "And let's make sure politicians don't tell our commanders how to conduct operations. Let's don't hamstring our people in the field. That's my message."
He said that in September, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the joint chiefs plan to "make recommendations about troop levels based upon the conditions on the ground," taking into account the views of the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus.
That approach, Bush said, "stands in stark contrast to members of Congress who say, we're going to determine troop levels based upon politics or the latest opinion poll or how we can get our members elected."
He added, "The idea that the House of Representatives put forward is one that we will fund our troops by piecemeal." He said Gates feels strongly that this is "a bad idea" because it would delay certain procurements and military contracts.
"There's a lot of uncertainty in funding when it comes to two-month cycles," Bush said. "So we reject that idea. It won't work."
He also accused lawmakers of being "ready to fully fund unrelated domestic spending items and only one-half of the money requested for our troops."
"They got it wrong," he said. "They ought to provide 100 percent of the money for people who wear the uniform, and leave these special pork projects out of the bill. So I'll veto the bill if it's this haphazard, piecemeal funding."
However, Bush continued, "One message I have heard from people from both parties is that the idea of benchmarks makes sense. And I agree. It makes sense to have benchmarks as a part of our discussion on how to go forward. And so I've empowered Josh Bolten to find common ground on benchmarks. And he will continue to have dialogue with both Republicans and Democrats." He referred to Joshua B. Bolten, the White House chief of staff and one of his designated negotiators on a new war funding bill.
Bush did not specify what sort of benchmarks he would accept or how they would be tied to appropriations for the war in Iraq. Earlier in his remarks, he noted that Iraqi leaders had informed representatives at an international conference last week that they were determined to meet "a series of benchmarks they have set for political progress."
Bush said, "These benchmarks include adoption of a national oil law and preparations for provincial elections and progress on a new de-Baathification policy and a review of the Iraqi constitution."
His comments on benchmarks came after moderate House Republicans bluntly warned Bush this week that his Iraq war policy is risking the future of the Republican Party and that he cannot count on GOP support for many more months, The Washington Post reported today.
Bush said Vice President Cheney, who stopped in Iraq yesterday as part of a Middle East tour, conveyed the message to Iraqi political leaders "that they have got to speed up their clock." He said Iraqis "must understand that we are very serious when it comes to them passing a law that enables this country to more likely reconcile."
Bush also said that the level of sectarian violence in Baghdad, which he called an important indicator for the success of U.S. strategy, "has dropped substantially."
At the same time, however, "al-Qaeda is responding with their own surge," he said. "Al-Qaeda is ratcheting up its campaign of high-profile attacks, including deadly suicide bombings carried out by foreign terrorists."
He cautioned that U.S. forces currently are seeing "high levels of violence" because they are "entering areas where terrorists and militia once had sanctuary." As this occurs, he said, "our troops will face more fighting and increased risks in the weeks and months ahead." Asked if he were concerned that Blair's resignation would affect British policy on Iraq significantly, Bush said he was confident that his friend's likely successor, Brown, understands what would happen if the United States and its allies fail in Iraq.
Hailing Blair as "a long-term thinker" and "a man who's kept his word," Bush said, "I'm going to miss him. He's a remarkable person, and I consider him a good friend."
He said he has met Brown and "found him to be an open and engaging person" as well as "an easy-to-talk-to, good thinker."
Pressed what he thought Brown would do on Iraq, Bush said, "Look, you've got to believe he understands the consequences of failure."
He added, "The interesting thing about the Iraq debate, by the way, is I don't hear a lot of discussions about what happens if we fail. I hear a lot of discussions about, maybe we can make good political progress based upon this issue, or, let's just make sure that we constantly achieve -- make political hay based upon Iraq. I hear a lot of that."
"But there needs to be a serious discussion about what happens if we create a vacuum into which radical movements flow," he said. "I am deeply concerned about what would happen in the Middle East should America's credibility be diminished as a result of us not keeping our word, as a result of us abandoning millions of people who are anxious to live in a stable, secure, free society."
Bush said he also worries that "failure in Iraq" would embolden al-Qaeda and Iran.
Asked if he were "recruiting" Sarkozy, France's pro-American president-elect, to be part of the coalition in Iraq, Bush said, "First of all, presidents don't recruit. The people elect a leader with whom I will work."
He said he has met Sarkozy and "found him to be a very engaging, energetic, smart, capable person," adding, "We will have our differences and we will have our agreements, and I'm looking forward to working with him."