Anti-Buildup Measure to Have Bipartisan Stamp

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 — Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, an outspoken Republican critic of the administration’s Iraq policy, will join two leading Democrats in introducing a resolution opposing President Bush’s buildup of troops in Iraq, putting a bipartisan stamp on the looming Congressional showdown over the war.

Lawmakers and aides said Mr. Hagel had been consulting for the past few days with the two Democrats, Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Carl Levin of Michigan, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, to develop the wording of the resolution, which could be introduced as early as Wednesday.

“Senator Levin, Senator Biden and I have been working together on it and we are pretty close,” Mr. Hagel, a potential Republican presidential candidate, said Tuesday night as he left the Senate.

Mr. Hagel said the intent of the resolution was not to “bash the president” or to call for the immediate withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq, but a responsible way for senators to register their opinion on the increase of more than 20,000 additional troops announced by Mr. Bush last week.

While Senate opponents of the buildup were preparing to move forward, Senate Republicans backing the president were trying to map their own strategy, considering proposals that could appeal to Republicans frustrated with events in Iraq but keep them from supporting the most critical resolution.

“There will be alternatives,” said Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the third-ranking Senate Republican.

At the White House, officials were continuing to discuss the new plan with members of Congress, with an emphasis on lining up Republicans behind Mr. Bush’s approach. “We knew this was not going to be an easy policy to explain or one that was going to be met with open arms,” said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity. .......