Democrats poised to take control of Congress said Sunday that they would press to begin a phased U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq within four to six months, part of an agenda aimed at overhauling key aspects of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
"First order of business is to change the direction of Iraq policy," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who is in line to become chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee next year.
Senior White House officials countered that setting timetables for U.S. troop withdrawals would weaken the Iraqi government and embolden insurgents, but they acknowledged a need for fresh ideas and expressed a willingness to negotiate with Democrats on an array of foreign-policy issues.
White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten indicated on ABC that President Bush would block legislation that calls for a scheduled withdrawal.
"I don't think we're going to be receptive to the notion there's a fixed timetable at which we automatically pull out, because that could be a true disaster for the Iraqi people," Bolten said.
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Even so, he said the White House was "willing to talk about anything" and was prepared to adjust tactics.
The developments came as Bush and members of his national-security team prepared to meet today with a panel of foreign-policy experts who have been charged with developing new proposals for how to proceed in Iraq.
