President Bush’s escalation of the war has already begun despite opposition from many lawmakers on Capitol Hill. On Sunday, 3,200 more U.S. troops arrived in Baghdad.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA): “If we have a president that is going to effectively defy the American people, going to defy the generals, defy the majority of the Congress of the United States, Republicans and Democrats, then we, I think, have a responsibility to end the funding for the war.”

President Bush is expected to defend the escalation of the war during his State of the Union on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain criticized a nonbinding Senate resolution opposing the president’s plan to send 20,000 more troops to Iraq.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) : “This resolution is basically a vote of no confidence in the men and women we’re sending over there. We’re saying we’re not going to stop you from going there, but we don’t believe you can succeed, and we’re not willing to support that. I don’t think the troops would find that an expression of support.”