Troop surge? or Divide and Conquer?

Biden Opposes a Troop Increase in Iraq, Foreshadowing a Fight With the Bush Administration - Full Story Washington Post

By HELENE COOPER

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 — Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday rejected a troop increase for Iraq, foreshadowing what could be a contentious fight between the Bush administration and Congress.

"One plan under consideration is to send an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq in a bid to restore order. “I totally oppose this surging of additional American troops into Baghdad,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s contrary to the overwhelming body of informed opinion, both inside and outside the administration.”

"Mr. Biden, who said he planned to run for president in 2008, made his critique during a teleconference call with reporters. He continued to press his proposal for a partitioning of Iraq into three autonomous states — controlled by Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds — to be sustained with what he called an equitable distribution of the country’s oil wealth."