'Bipartisan consensus' emerging in US

Washington: Debate over funding the war moved to the Senate after Democrats in the House of Representatives defied President George W. Bush on Thursday by passing a bill that allows money to continue combat only for two or three months.

Bush vetoed a $124 billion war funding bill last week because it set a deadline for the withdrawal of combat troops.

Senators appear more willing to give Bush the $100 billion he wants at once, but it remains unclear how far they might go in setting binding "benchmarks" to measure progress in Iraq.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said on Friday there was "new reason to believe that a bipartisan consensus on Iraq is emerging".

Bush said he would back benchmarks but he and congressional Republicans do not want to spell out actions the United States would take if Iraqi progress in securing the country falls short.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat-New York said on Friday she considered it "promising" that several Republican House members went to the White House and told President Bush they believe the continuing war is adversely affecting the party.

She said the GOP lawmakers told Bush pointblank that "he has to change course in Iraq." But she also said she didn't think that Bush was ready to reverse course.

"I think we're going to go back and forth on this for a while longer," Clinton said in an interview on Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program with Joe Scarborough.

"It is clear that whatever the mission used to be, it is either accomplished or over," she said. "If there are remaining American interests, then let's spell them out."

Underscoring the strain on US forces as the Baghdad buildup nears its peak, one commander said he needed more troops in volatile Diyala province north of the city.

"I do not have enough soldiers right now in Diyala province to get that security situation moving," said Army Maor General Benjamin Mixon, commander of forces in areas north of Baghdad.