The White House has rejected a US congressional resolution that calls for a US troop withdrawal from Iraq.
The resolution, backed by North Carolina Republican Representative Walter Jones and Hawaii Democratic Representative Neil Abercrombie, calls for the Bush administration to develop a plan by the end of this year to pull out all troops from Iraq and to begin the withdrawal by October 1st, 2006.
Mr Jones said US forces had removed Saddam Hussein, given Iraqis a chance at democracy and were training their military. "After they're trained, what else should the goals be? Do we want to be there for 20 years or 30 years?" he said.
The resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives as White House aides said President George W. Bush planned a more determined effort to defend the Iraq war amid growing public doubts.
Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said setting a withdrawal date would send the wrong message to Iraqi insurgents.
"This message would say to the terrorists: 'All you have to do is wait until that day when our troops leave and then you can start carrying out those attacks and just hold out,'" he said.
The resolution is not expected to get far in the Republican-led Congress, which, although critical of aspects of the war, has supported the president's efforts.
About two-dozen House Democrats held their own hearing on a British government memo that said that by July 2002 U.S. intelligence was being "fixed" around a policy that would inevitably lead to war with Iraq.
US-led forces invaded Iraq in March 2003.