WASHINGTON, 18 June 2005 — Hear that cracking sound? It’s the shattering of once-solid congressional support for President Bush’s war on Iraq.

On Thursday, a bipartisan group of congressmen, including one conservative who voted for the war in Iraq, introduced a resolution calling for initial troop withdrawal from Iraq starting Oct. 1, 2006.

Walter B. Jones, R-North Carolina, the congressman who once wanted the French fries in congressional restaurants to be renamed “Freedom Fries,” now says that the United States has done all it can to help Iraq.

“After 1,700 deaths over 12,000 wounded and $200 billion spent, we believe it is time to have this debate and discussion on this resolution,” said Rep. Jones, whose district is home to three military bases.

The congressmen admitted they do not expect to see any action on the resolution, but hope it will start a public conversation about bringing US troops home.

Also Thursday, in a surrogate vote on rules for debating the military spending bill, the House rejected a call by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for the Bush administration to deliver a plan for Iraq within 30 days.

Pelosi was defeated by a procedural vote, with all but one Republican, Rep. John Hostettler, Indiana, voting against it.

Additionally, House Democrats against the war in Iraq held an unofficial hearing on the Capitol Thursday to draw attention a leaked British government document, “the Downing Street memo,” to show that President Bush misled the public about his war plans in 2002, distorted intelligence to support his policy, and decided to topple Saddam Hussein long before he made his plans public.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., called the Iraq war “one of the biggest scandals in the history of this country.”

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., a principle organizer of the event, said the memos “establish a prima facie case of going to war under false pretenses.”

Ray McGovern, a former intelligence analyst, pushed the envelope even farther when he said the United States went to war in Iraq for oil, Israel, and military bases craved by administration “neo-cons” so “the United States and Israel could dominate that part of the world.”

McGovern added that Israel should not be considered an ally and that Bush was doing the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

“Israel is not allowed to be brought up in polite conversation,” McGovern said. “The last time I did this, the previous director of Central Intelligence called me anti-Semitic.”

None of this makes John Bolton’s nomination, Bush’s choice for UN ambassador, any easier.

Also Thursday, Senate Democrats rejected a Republican compromise over John Bolton’s nomination as US ambassador to the UN.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, scheduled a procedural vote on Monday to try to break the deadlock.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, demanded a full accounting of whether Bolton exaggerated assessments of several countries’ weapons programs, a key issue in the long-stalled nomination.

“All over the news the last few days has been concerns about weapons of mass destruction by virtue of the memo that was discovered,” he said, referring to the “Downing Street memo.”

There is speculation here that if Democrats continue to filibuster a confirmation vote on Bolton, Bush may use his constitutional power to give John Bolton a recess appointment.

Bush’s father made a recess appointment for a chief justice of the US Supreme Court, leaving a Senate vote on confirmation until a later date.