|
Informed sepculation among White House insiders and outside advisers has it that President Bush's speech on the way forward in Iraq may coem sooner than later.
The White House is getting anxious that the Bush plan, not yet announced, is already being picked apart by the media and members of Congress–especially on the matter of a surge of troops. Because of this, word is that the Bush speech may come by the beginning of next week. It wlil all play into thebig question benig asked around Wahsington, with Congress starting its 2007 session this week: What can the presidentaccomplish this year?
First and foremost, the administration will need todrum up support for Bush's new war plan.
"The 800-pound gorilla in the room is the war," says a senior Bush adviser. Adds a former adviser to Ronald Reagan: "President Bush has put all his chips in the middle of the table on Iraq. Either he gets it right this time, or we lose the next election."
Capitol Hill insiders say most congressional Democrats aren't ready to impose severe spending restraints on the conduct of the war, much less cut off funding totally as some antiwar firebrands advocate. At least not yet. But if the situation in Iraq doesn't improve or gets worse, three is a good prospect that majority Democrats will impose conditions on spending in Iraq, such as requiring the Baghdad government to reach specific "benchmakrs" for taking over the war and restoring stability.
"In political terms, that way they keep the issue alive, and we are on the losing end of that issue right now," says a senior GOP adviser.
| 
