U.S. Commander in Iraq to Face Democrats Eager for Troop Cuts

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Senate Democrats impatient to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq will inject a new political dynamic into the debate over the war beginning today as they question the military's top Middle East commander for the first time since their party swept into control of Congress this month.

Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, will face questions on the violence in Iraq and what it means for the roughly 145,000 U.S. troops there during scheduled testimony today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, senators from both parties said.

Senior Democrats and Republicans on the committee are deeply divided over basic issues such as troop levels and strategy and whether Iraq is already in a state of civil war. Still, they are united by a concern for American forces. Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.), for example, said he will quiz Abizaid on the risks that U.S. troops could face if embedded with Iraqi units under an Iraqi chain of command.

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Democrats have made it clear that they intend to bolster the committee's oversight role, and an influx of new members, including Democrat James Webb of Virginia, is expected to further invigorate debate. Webb, a former active-duty Marine and one of only a handful of members of Congress with offspring serving in Iraq, secured a seat on the committee yesterday, according to his spokeswoman, Kristian Denny Todd.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401246.html