August 29, 2005
Senator Will Ask Rumsfeld to Testify to Panel on Iraq
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 - With lawmakers facing tough questions at home about the war in Iraq, Senator John W. Warner, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, says he intends to summon Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld quickly for a hearing when Congress returns next week.
Mr. Warner, a Virginia Republican who is one of the most important Congressional voices on military policy, said mounting numbers of dead and wounded Americans, the contentious process of drafting an Iraqi constitution and the economic cost of the war were adding up to new anxiety in Congress.
"The level of concern is, I think, gradually rising," Mr. Warner said in an interview on Friday. "Our nation has given so much to the Iraqi people, and what are they giving us in return?"
Unlike some of his colleagues in both parties, Mr. Warner said he did not see parallels between the current situation and the Vietnam era. While he said he believed that most Republican lawmakers remained strongly behind administration policy, he indicated that continuing on the same course could steadily erode Congressional backing for the war.
"I don't see that the Congress is going to suddenly pull back like in the days of Vietnam," Mr. Warner said. "It is the desire of the Congress to continue to work with and support the administration. But there is always a tipping point."
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