Warner considering legislation for pullouts

WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP Sen. John Warner, who wants U.S. troops to start coming home from Iraq by Christmas, said Sunday he may support Democratic legislation ordering withdrawals if President Bush refuses to set a return timetable soon.

“I’m going to have to evaluate it,” Warner said. “I don’t say that as a threat, but I say that is an option we all have to consider.”

Warner, a former Navy Secretary and one-time chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is seen as someone who could influence the debate among senators who have grown increasingly uneasy about the unpopular war.

Warner’s suggestion last week about bringing back some troops put him at odds with Bush, who has insisted that conditions on the ground should dictate any such decisions. Warner long has opposed legislation pushing for timetables.

The Virginia Republican said Sunday it would be best for the president, not Congress, to make a decision on withdrawals and that overriding a presidential veto would be difficult. But Warner made clear his view that people are losing patience with the administration’s strategy in Iraq, a significant change is needed in September and troop withdrawals were the best way to accomplish that.

The political wrangling comes as the White House and Congress are headed toward a showdown on the Iraq war. In mid-September, Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker plan to give their assessment of the troop buildup.