The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday suggesting Baghdad limit the power of
its federal government and give more control to Iraq's ethnically divided
regions.
The 75-23 vote marked the first agreement on Iraq among lawmakers in months,
although it would have little practical effect. Republicans agreed to swing
behind the nonbinding measure after it was amended to make clear that Bush
should press for a new federalized system only if the Iraqis want it.
Still, the resolution underscores a bipartisan longing in Congress for a fresh
diplomatic approach in Iraq.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a primary sponsor of the resolution along with Sen.
Sam Brownback, R-Kan., advocates establishing a power-sharing agreement among
ethnic factions similar to the one established in Bosnia in the 1990s.
It is unlikely the Bush administration will alter its policies on Iraq in light
of the resolution. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Senate Republican
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a letter Tuesday that the administration supports a
federal Iraq, but it is a "sensitive issue best left to the Iraqis to address at
their own pace."
Republican co-sponsors to the proposal included Brownback, Kay Bailey Hutchison
of Texas, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Gordon Smith of Oregon.
The resolution is the only war-related measure that has been able to overcome
the Senate's 60-vote threshold since debate began this month on a defense policy
bill. Last week, the Senate rejected three Democratic proposals aimed at
limiting troop deployments or ending combat.
