A US Senate resolution opposing President Bush's Iraq war plan is putting the White House and Republican leaders on the defensive.
Eager to avoid an embarrassing congressional rebuke of the president's new war strategy, the administration seemed to hint that the effort, led chiefly by Democrats, might somehow aid terrorists.
They also brought Republican sceptics to the White House, where they tried to allay the worries of Republicans - including Senators John Warner, Sam Brownback, Norm Coleman and Susan Collins.
"What message does Congress intend to give?" White House spokesman Tony Snow asked. "And who does it think the audience is? Is the audience merely the president? Is it the voting American public or, in an age of instant communication, is it also al-Qaeda?"
Initially announced by the Senate Armed Services Committee's Democratic chairman, Senator Carl Levin, and Senators Joseph Biden, a Democrat, and Chuck Hagel, a Republican, the nonbinding resolution states that "escalating the United States military force presence in Iraq" is not in the national interest.
Republican Senator Olympia Snowe has also signed up to the resolution.
Mr Bush has announced he will add 21,500 US troops to the roughly 132,000 already in Iraq.
Mr Hagel and Ms Snowe's support for the measure is a major victory for Democrats, who believe the two Republicans' backing will open the door for others to jump on board and challenge their Mr Bush.
The resolution does not suggest withdrawal of troops or threaten to stop providing money for military operations, as many Democrats have suggested. Instead, it says the United States should transfer responsibility to the Iraqis "under an appropriately expedited timeline" that is not specified.