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Democrats take control in US
04/01/2007 19:22 - (SA)
Washington - Democrats take control of the US congress on Thursday for the first time in 12 years, vowing to hold Republican President George W Bush accountable for the Iraq quandary.
About 500 officials - a third of the 100-seat US senate and the entire 435-seat house - are to be sworn in after the November 7 election, which saw heavy losses inflicted on the Republicans, mainly over the Iraq war.
In the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, 66, will become the first female majority leader.
Ever smiling and brimming with energy, she has been an implacable Bush opponent.
Holocaust survivor Tom Lantos, 78, who voted for the Iraq war and now is calling for dialogue with Syria and Iran, will head the house foreign relations committee.
In the senate another fierce White House opponent, Harry Reid, 67, will be the new majority leader, while Joseph Biden, 63, who hopes to run for the White House in 2008, will head the senate foreign relations committee.
Overhaul of Iraq policy
The new Democratic majority has set high on their agenda hearings on quelling sectarian strife in Iraq and perceived administration mistakes getting into the war.
The new Congress will open as Bush prepares to announce an overhaul of his Iraq policy.
Key proposals Bush is expected to announce in the next weeks is a short-term "surge" of thousands of additional US troops into Iraq.
The president however will face resistance from Capitol Hill after six years of an overwhelmingly sympathetic Republican-led Congress, and Democrats say he will have to compromise if he hopes to achieve anything substantive in his last two years in office.
"Democrats ran on a message of compromise and we certainly want to work with the president," said Democratic senator Charles Schumer.
"We hope that when the president says compromise, it means more than 'do it my way,' which is what he's meant in the past," he said.
Indications are the Democrats plan to fully use their newfound power.
Senate foreign relations committee chairperson Joe Biden is organising up to a dozen hearings on the Iraq war, with secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to testify.
Carl Levin, his counterpart on the senate armed services committee, plans to summon new defence secretary Robert Gates and other officials.
Time to set aside politics
The first dogfight could come over Bush's expected shake-up of Iraq war policy: Biden has already said he would oppose any effort to increase US troop levels.
Even some Republicans in congress sounded hesitant about a short-term force increase, saying they prefer to defer to military experts - some of whom also oppose the surge.
"I am reluctant to try to give advice to our military commanders in the field," said Republican representative Steve King, in a sentiment echoed by several lawmakers.
"I trust their judgment. Every one of them tells me that they are not in a tactical risk of losing this war," he said.
Bush called Wednesday for better collaboration between the administration and the legislature.
"It's time to set aside politics and focus on the future," Bush said after a meeting with members of his cabinet and ahead of a White House reception for Democratic and Republican leaders.
Despite Democrats' new authority in Congress, the president can still veto any legislation he dislikes. Internal Democratic divisions could also be harmful, making some cooperation likely with Republicans.
- AFP
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