Warner undeterred by Republican heat

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Warner's suggestion that some troops leave Iraq by Christmas has roiled the White House, with administration officials saying they have asked the influential Republican to clarify that he has not broken politically with President Bush.

But Warner said Friday that he stands by his remarks and that he did not object to how his views have been characterized.

"I'm not going to issue any clarification," said Warner, R-Va. "I don't think any clarification is needed."

Congressional Republicans have grown increasingly uneasy about the unpopular war, and many say they want to see substantial gains by September or will consider calling for a new strategy, including possibly forcing Bush to draw down troops.

Warner, former chairman of the Armed Services Committee and Navy secretary during the Vietnam War, is seen as someone who could tip the debate.

After his trip to Iraq this month, which included a meeting with top Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus, Warner said time has run out on the Baghdad government and Bush should make good on his word that the U.S. commitment was not open-ended by announcing a pullout of troops this fall.

The symbolic gesture, he said, could amount to as few as 5,000 of the 160,000 troops in Iraq. The goal would be to pressure Iraqi leaders to make political compromises necessary to tamp down sectarian violence.

While Warner said he still would oppose Democratic legislation ordering troop withdrawals, it was the first time he had embraced pulling troops out by a certain date. It also put him at odds with the president by rejecting Bush's long-held assertion that only security conditions should dictate deployments and that announced redeployments would be an unhelpful broadcast of war plans to the enemy.

After Warner made his ideas public, White House officials said they reached out to Warner's staff and asked him to clarify his position. An administration official said Warner's staff agreed that his views were being portrayed incorrectly.

However, Warner said Friday he personally had not been asked to revise his comments. Asked whether he had split with Bush on Iraq, he said his remarks speak for themselves.

"You have to surmise that on your own," he said.

Warner's comments also drew reaction from GOP colleagues known for their steadfast allegiance to Bush on the war.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., issued a statement saying efforts to pre-empt Petraeus' September review of Bush's troop escalation were "premature and irresponsible."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, "It's a little curious to me that people are proposing a change in strategy when in fact the current strategy appears now to be working."

The swift reaction undercuts any suggestion that Warner — known for his caution and party loyalty, as well as national-security expertise — might have been paving the way for Bush to announce an exit plan.

In fact, White House officials said privately Friday that they are not contemplating major shifts before early next year. They said next month's report by Petraeus is likely to highlight what they see as significant improvements in security over the past year and that they expect Bush to assert that now is not the time to dramatically change approaches.

The Washington Post contributed to this report.