KurdistanObserver.com   Third Republican Senator Defies Bush on Iraq   Sheldon Alberts CanWest NewsService Friday, July 06, 2007 WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush's efforts to maintain Republican support for the war in Iraq was dealt another major blow Thursday when Senator Pete Domenici, a GOP stalwart, split with the White House and called for the withdrawal of American troops. Domenici, a 36-year veteran of the Senate, is the third Republican senator in two weeks to break with Bush and call for another sharp shift in American policy. At a news conference, Domenici called the Bush administration's continued faith in the Iraqi government misplaced and said it's clear the security situation has deteriorated even despite the recent U.S. troop surge. "I am unwilling to continue our current strategy," said Domenici, who cited appeals from family members of fallen soldiers as a key reason for his change of heart. "I have carefully studied the Iraq situation, and believe we cannot continue asking our troops to sacrifice while the Iraqi government is not making measurable progress to move its country forward." Bush has repeatedly appealed for Congress to stick with his Iraq policy until September, when commanding General David Petraeus is to report on whether the addition of 28,000 new troops has succeeded in quelling vicious sectarian violence in the country. But several conservative Republicans are abandoning the White House even before receiving the administration's official assessment. Just last week, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar -- the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations committee - warned the continued presence of U.S. troops was damaging America's long-term interests in the Middle East. Ohio Senator George Voinovich followed with a letter to Bush calling for "gradual military disengagement from Iraq." Maintaining the support of key Republicans is vital to Bush because Democrats have threatened to reduce funding for U.S. troops unless there is hard evidence of progress in Iraq by this fall. Despite claims sectarian violence has fallen since the troop surge began last spring, the Iraqi Health Ministry reported Thursday the number of unidentified corpses in Baghdad actually grew by 40 per cent from January to June. The Iraqi cabinet this week approved draft legislation to manage the country's oil resources, a key demand of both the White House and Congress. But efforts to strike a deal on distribution of oil revenues have stalled amid ongoing disputes between Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish lawmakers. In a statement, Domenici said he would support bipartisan legislation endorsing recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which endorsed a drawdown of U.S. troops by March 2008. The bill would see most American forces redeployed to other parts of the Middle East. "I do not support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops," Domenici said. "But I do support a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and on the path to coming home."       Copyright © 2002, Kurdistan Observer