THE US:The Bush administration yesterday slapped down a proposal, by two senators seen as the elder statesmen of the Republican party, which would have started the process of planning for an eventual exit from Iraq.
The flat refusal, delivered by the national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, deepens a gap between the White House and a Congress that is increasingly frustrated by George Bush's war strategy but is so far too divided to change it.
With just three weeks to go until the summer recess, the coming days are expected to intensify efforts in Congress to produce a clear alternative strategy for troops to leave Iraq.
However, in appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows in the media yesterday, Mr Hadley announced that the White House would not contemplate any shift in strategy until September, when Gen David Petraeus, the commander of troops in the region, delivered his progress report.
Mr Hadley said the government would make no allowances for the Bill, introduced on Friday by the Republican senators John Warner and Richard Lugar, which calls for a withdrawal plan for US forces to be made ready by mid-October. "Hearing from the commanders on the ground in September is the right step," he told ABC television.
In the narrowly balanced Senate, Democrats would have to woo 18 Republicans to muster the 60 votes needed for a Bill setting a firm date for an exit from Iraq.
