US: An influential Democratic congressman, who voted for the Iraq war, has called for the immediate withdrawal of US forces.
John Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran who is seen as a hawk on military issues, appeared close to tears as he told reporters in Washington yesterday the US needed an urgent change of direction in Iraq.
"Our military is suffering, the future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States , the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region," he said.
Mr Murtha said he would ask Congress to back a resolution calling for the withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq as soon as possible. He said the withdrawal could be completed within six months.
"Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency, they are united against US forces, and we have become a catalyst for violence. The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion," he said.
Mr Murtha's call came a day after vice-president Dick Cheney described Democrats who criticised the war as "opportunists", who were peddling "cynical and pernicious falsehoods" to gain political advantage while US soldiers died in Iraq.
"American soldiers and marines are out there every day in dangerous conditions and desert temperatures - conducting raids, training Iraqi forces, countering attacks, seizing weapons, and capturing killers - and back home a few opportunists are suggesting they were sent into battle for a lie," Mr Cheney said.
Mr Murtha, who served as a marine intelligence officer in Vietnam while Mr Cheney avoided war service, was scathing about the vice-president's speech.
"I like guys who've never been there that criticise us who've been there. I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and send people to war, and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done," Mr Murtha said.
The administration's efforts to depict Democrats as hypocrites for criticising a war they voted for appears to be backfiring, as polls show support for the war continuing to decline, especially among moderate Republicans.
Concern about the course of the war lay behind this week's 79 to 19 Senate vote demanding that President Bush should report to Congress every three months on progress towards achieving US military objectives in Iraq.
Republicans still support Mr Bush's handling of Iraq but that support has been eroding, particularly among Republican women, whose support for the war has fallen by 15 per cent in the last year.
In a boost for Mr Bush, Republicans and Democrats have reached a tentative agreement to renew some of the most controversial measures in the anti-terrorist Patriot Act, which was introduced after 9/11.
The deal would make permanent 14 provisions that were due to expire at the end of the year and extend for seven years three other measures, including one that allows law enforcement agents to access bookshop and public library records.
The deal introduces new controls on the FBI's use of "national security letters", which require companies to provide private information about their customers and to keep the request secret. The Patriot Act allowed the FBI to use such letters on any citizen it deemed relevant to a national security investigation, even if the target is not suspected of any wrong-doing.
Under the agreement, people who receive such letters would be allowed to consult a lawyer and challenge the requests under a new judicial review process.