REDS PLAY GAMES, CALL NAMES

REPUBLICANS PROPOSE IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

Differences over policy on the Iraq war ignited an explosion of angry words and personal insults on the House floor yesterday when the chamber's newest Republican member suggested that a decorated war veteran was a coward for calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.

As Democrats physically restrained one colleague, who appeared as if he might lose control of himself as he rushed across the aisle to confront Republicans with a jabbing finger, they accused Republicans of playing political games with the war.

It was past 10 p.m. when John Murtha, who proposed a more gradual withdrawal earlier in the week, addressed a relatively subdued House. He explained that Republican Duncan Hunter's immediate withdrawal resolution was "not what I envisioned" because it avoids a broader debate of the war, which "is not going as advertised," Murtha said. "The American people are way ahead of us" in wanting a strategy to bring the troops home, he added. "It's easy to sit in your air-conditioned offices and send them into battle."