Senate Democratic lawmakers have sent President Bush a letter urging him to detail U.S. strategy for Iraq following Thursday's parliamentary elections.
The letter was signed by 40 Democrats and one independent senator Wednesday. It calls on Mr. Bush to notify Iraqi leaders they need to make the compromises necessary to achieve a broad-based and sustainable political settlement. The letter also calls on the Bush administration to detail the future of the U.S. mission in the war-torn country.
Earlier, the president accepted responsibility for the U.S.-led invasion, despite faulty pre-war intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs. Mr. Bush firmly defended the war, saying ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a threat to the American people. He called the upcoming elections a "watershed moment" in history, after which Iraq will be the only constitutionally-elected democracy in the Arab world.