Democrats say election win could force change in Iraq war

Washington: Democrats say they will use their power to force a change in Iraq policy and demand that President George W. Bush start bringing US troops home.

Voters pushed Democrats to power in Tuesday's election, giving Democrats control of both the House and Senate next year.

Democrats say they hope election gains would provide momentum for more than the fall of Pro-Iraq war Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who resigned on Wednesday.

First stop next year will be legislation calling for an undetermined number of troops to come home immediately.

"I believe a number of Republicans will want to join forces here because there's a lot of unease in the country," said Democrat Senator Carl Levin.

Sen. John Warner of the Senate Armed Services Committee already has planned an Iraq hearing for next week with top military and intelligence officials testifying.

Warner says he wants to hold hearings with Rumsfeld's replacement, Robert Gates, this year – sessions that could become inquiries into almost every aspect of the Iraq war.

Aides also said that Democrats plan to call for troops to begin coming home from Iraq and to increase money for veterans and training special operations forces.

Democrats also are awaiting the recommendations of a bipartisan panel led by former Secretary of State James Baker III on Iraq, expected by early January or sooner.

White House counselor Dan Bartlett said that the Bush administration also hopes the commission's report will provide an impetus for "greater consensus" on Iraq policy.

House Democrats say they plan to set up a new committee next year focused on uncovering abuses in defence spending and policies, and possibly an independent commission to investigate fraud associated Iraq infrastructure aid.

Democratic incumbents are divided on how soon to pull troops out of Iraq. The White House says many Democratic critics agree that timetables are risky.

"What we're seeing is even those who are critical of the conduct or the competence of the war in Iraq all understand the consequences ... That is, if we are going to pull out of Iraq before the job is done it's going to make our country less secure," Bartlett said.