Biden: GOP May Split on Iraq After Election

Oct. 6, 2006 — -- The bleak characterization of the situation in Iraq that Republican John Warner made Thursday could be only the first such call by ranking Republicans for a possible change of course in Iraq in the months to come, according to a Democratic senator, who says Republicans have confided in him.

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware., the senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters today that at least two Republicans, in addition to Warner, have said privately that they will come out more forcefully against the White House strategy in Iraq.

Don't expect any bombshells this week or next, though. Both of the senators who have apparently confided in their Democratic colleague told him they will wait until after the Nov. 7 elections. Biden did not name the senators. He did say that Warner is not one of them.

"Two leading Republican senators have come to me," Biden said. He said they told him, "'Joe, I am getting beat up by my team.'"

Biden said after the election, "the need to protect the president will be nonexistent" and Republicans will be freer to break with the White House and call for change in Iraq.

Warner, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Thursday for "bold action" and a "change of course" if there is no change in Iraq in the next 60 to 90 days, saying the fledgling Iraqi government is not meeting its basic responsibilities.

Biden made his remarks in a conference call following Warner's comments from yesterday, and restated his own five-point plan for improving the situation in Iraq.

But Warner and Biden seem to disagree markedly on what to do next. Warner did not define what he meant by "bold action" but did say that retreat would be a boon to terrorists and a waste of the American investment of money and blood in Iraq.

Biden's plan involves bringing in more support from nations that neighbor Iraq, drawing Sunnis into the political fold by sharing oil revenues with them and drawing down U.S. troops.