President George W. Bush, in an effort to stem the tide of Republican criticism surrounding the war in Iraq, will dispatch National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley to Capitol Hill today. Hadley will meet with Indiana's Richard Lugar, the influential Republican Senator who called this week for American troops to start coming home in 2008. Lugar also, in a widely discussed speech given on Monday, said that Bush's “surge” strategy had failed. Following Lugar's speech, Republicans have felt freed up to criticize the strategy. Ohio Congressman George Voinovich seconded Lugar's desire on Tuesday. President Bush will argue again today that the troop surge needs time to work. He's formally naming Admiral Michael Mullen to replace General Peter Pace as Joint Chiefs chairman. Later, Bush delivers a speech at the Naval War College in Rhode Island.
