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WASHINGTON - With a veto fight looming, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that President Bush is in a state of denial over Iraq, "and the new Congress will show him the way" to a change in war policy.

IN a file photo Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., listens to a reporter's question during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 27, 2007. [AP]

Reid, D-Nev., said the Democratic-controlled House and Senate will soon pass a war funding bill that includes "a fair and reasonable timetable" for the withdrawal of US combat troops. In a speech prepared for delivery, he challenged Bush to present an alternative if, as expected, he vetoes the measure.

Reid's office released excerpts of the speech a few hours before President Bush was scheduled to make a statement on the war following his meeting with Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the Iraq war.

The Senate majority leader drew criticism from Bush and others last week when he said the war in Iraq had been lost.

He did not repeat the assertion in his prepared speech, saying that "The military mission has long since been accomplished. The failure has been political. It has been policy. It has been presidential."

Congress is expected to pass legislation this week that contains a nonbinding timetable for the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq by spring of 2008.

In addition, Democratic officials have said the measure will require the military to meet its own standards for equipping, training and resting troops who are sent to Iraq. Bush would be able to waive the requirements.

Officials also say the measure will set standards for the Iraqi government to meet as it tries to establish itself as a democratic society.

Bush has pledged repeatedly to reject any bill that includes a timetable for a troop withdrawal, and there is no doubt that Republicans in Congress have the votes to sustain his veto.

That would require Congress to approve a second funding bill quickly to avoid significant disruptions in military operations.

Reid's speech blended an attack on Bush, an appeal for patience to the anti-war voters who last fall gave Democrats control, and an attempt to shape the post-veto debate.

"I understand the restlessness that some feel. Many who voted for change in November anticipated dramatic and immediate results in January," he said.

"But like it or not, George W. Bush is still the commander in chief - and this is his war," Reid said.

Reid said Democrats have sought Republican support for their attempts to force Bush to change course. "Only the president is the odd man out, and he is making the task even harder by demanding absolute fidelity from his party."

Looking beyond Bush's expected veto, he said, "If the president disagrees, let him come to us with an alternative. Instead of sending us back to square one with a veto, some tough talk and nothing more, let him come to the table in the spirit of bipartisanship that Americans demand and deserve."

Reid noted disapprovingly that in a speech last week, Bush repeatedly said there were signs of progress in Iraq in the wake of a troop increase he ordered last winter.

"The White House transcript says the president made those remarks in the state of Michigan. I believe he made them in the state of denial," said Reid.

Democratic officials have also said they intend to add a minimum wage increase to the war funding bill. Key lawmakers announced agreement late last week on a package of business tax breaks to accompany the boost in the wage floor, which would total $2.10 cents an hour in three equal installments.

Apart from the clash over war policy, Bush has pledged to veto the funding bill if Democrats go ahead with plans to include billions of dollars in domestic spending.