Republican Revolt Prompts Bush to Rethink Surge

The White House is reviewing its Iraq strategy earlier than planned because of an escalating revolt by Republicans who have run out of patience and want US troops brought home.

George Bush had been hoping he had until at least September before debate began on whether his surge strategy, in which 30,000 extra troops were sent to Iraq, was working. But the White House is alarmed by the loss of confidence among Republicans who returned to Congress yesterday after a short recess. The Senate began discussions yesterday on whether to attach a withdrawal timetable to a new round of funding for the Iraq war.

The intense debate inside the White House comes as the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, cautioned that fighting the insurgency could take decades. In an interview with the BBC, he claimed the surge strategy was producing gains on the ground. But US forces were engaged in a "tough fight" which would get "harder before it gets easier".

His bleak assessment came as pressure grew in Washington for an early withdrawal. The danger for the White House is if disenchanted Republicans join forces with Democrats in Congress to set a timetable or other limits.

The New York Times yesterday quoted a White House official as saying: "When you count up the votes that we've lost and the votes we're likely to lose over the next few weeks, it is pretty grim."

The crisis forced Robert Gates, the defence secretary, to cancel a four-country trip to Latin America. The national security adviser, Steve Hadley, has been up on Capitol Hill sounding out senators.

Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, told a press conference yesterday he welcomed the Republican defections and that the White House is "considering changing its mission".

The White House insisted yesterday Mr Bush was not contemplating an early withdrawal. But Mr Bush may also have to offer some concession to try to stop the Republican revolt from spreading.

Frederick Kagan, the academic who inspired the surge policy, speaking at a Washington seminar yesterday, denied the strategy had failed, saying it had only began on June 15 when all the troops had been deployed. He described the September deadline for Gen Petraeus to report back to Congress on progress as "unreasonable" and proposed that the deployment, due to end in April be extended.

Three Republican senators have broken rank in the last fortnight. A fourth, Susan Collins, said yesterday there had been "a steady erosion for the president's policy" because of the "tremendous loss of life among our troops" in June and "the failure of the Iraqi government to pursue the political reforms that are necessary to quell the sectarian violence".

Overall, 3,606 US troops have died since the 2003 invasion. The April-June quarter was the deadliest yet and in July, so far, 29 have been killed.

Although well-connected sources confirmed the White House debate, the president's spokesman, Tony Snow, played it down, saying Mr Bush was not contemplating withdrawal "right now".

The focus will shift to the return to the US, scheduled for tomorrow, of Senator John McCain, one of the Republican presidential hopefuls, from Iraq.

Mr McCain has been one of Mr Bush's strongest supporters over the surge and any doubts expressed by him would see the Republican revolt accelerate.