REGION'S LAWMAKERS STAND BY VOTES ON WAR.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Whether they believe the U.S. mission in Iraq can still succeed or that U.S. troops should be withdrawn, Southern California lawmakers who voted for the war four years ago say they still stand by their decision.

As they voted last week on a resolution calling for troop withdrawal, Democrats and Republicans alike defended their vote to bring the country into war in October 2002, saying they authorized the use of force based on the best information available at the time.

"I voted for (war) because I thought Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons, I thought he was trying to get nuclear weapons and the sanctions regime was collapsing around us. Those premises were wrong," said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys.

Once a strong supporter of the war and among the last Democrats to break with President George W. Bush on Iraq, Berman was among 221 lawmakers who voted in favor of Thursday's resolution that set an April 2008 target date for withdrawal.

The resolution passed 221-196, with five Democrats voting against it and no Republicans in favor.

Berman called the resolution "careful and responsible," saying, "It's trying to encourage a different strategy but it leaves some flexibility."

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks -- who like many Democrats voiced concerns when he voted for war in 2002 but later contended that not invading Iraq at all would have been the wrong decision -- also voted for withdrawal.

"I have voted consistently with a unified effort to try to get us to change the strategy," Sherman said. "We're saying, change the mission."

As for his initial reasoning for war, he said, "I regret the fact that we invaded Iraq. Had a good president carried out a good foreign policy, the fact that he was empowered to threaten Iraq would not have been a problem ... anything I could have done to cause us to act differently, I wish I had."

Republicans, for the most part, were unapologetic about their vote for war despite what some described as current misgivings.

"I think getting rid of Saddam Hussein was an honorable thing to do," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. "I have no problem with having tried to do that."

Rohrabacher, who in 2002 predicted rebuilding Iraq would be relatively easy, said Republicans are not willing to stay there "indefinitely" and maintained that the U.S. has in fact accomplished important goals.

"What's clear is we've killed or eliminated thousands of radical Islamists who are enemies of the United States and enemies of democracy," he said, adding Congress should at least wait until the end of the year to decide on withdrawal.

Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon agreed. While he has in the past said the troop surge President Bush initiated in January should not be "open ended," he this week said withdrawing now would be "very premature."

"I'm going to see what General Petraeus has to say in September. Anything prior to that is precipitous," said McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.

Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, who has stood steadfast with the president on Iraq, called the Democrat withdrawal plan "disastrous."

"The counterinsurgency offensive is well under way and making clear and irrefutable progress," Dreier said.

"The Democratic leadership, in their absurdist logic, want our military to abandon their strategy, go home, and write a report about what they would have wanted to accomplish if they had stayed. And if that weren't cruel enough, they'd have to watch terror and genocide unfold as they retreated," he said.

Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, who over the past year has called for a clearer mission for U.S. troops, also said he would not second-guess his 2002 vote for war.

"How do you go back and remake the wheel?" he said. "Based on the information we had at the time, it was the right vote to make."

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WHAT THEY SAID ... THEN AND NOW

REP. ELTON GALLEGLY, R-Thousand Oaks

2002 - "We have to be tough and we can't negotiate with Saddam. He's a madman. If we disarm him, I think regime change will take care of itself."

2003 - "Military action in Iraq will prevent any international terrorist group from obtaining material support, sanctuary or weapons of mass destruction from Saddam Hussein and his regime."

2004 - "We clearly did know that he had WMD at some point. He had 'em. It was the correct decision."

2006 - "Democracy, the antithesis of terrorism, is on the march in the Middle East."

2007 - "The status quo is not going to accomplish our ultimate objectives, and we can't continue to let our young people do the kind of job they've been having to do."

REP. HOWARD "BUCK" McKEON, R-Santa Clarita

2002 - "His ability to access terror networks, combined with his failure to comply with countless U.N. resolutions, makes a solid case for regime change in Iraq."

2004 - "The most important thing, I think, was eliminating (Hussein's) capacity to hurt us. We are making progress."

2006 - "They want to cut and run from Iraq. But I think most people understand ... we can't pull out."

2007 - Spokesman: "He believes (a surge) has to be part of a broader strategy. It can't be open-ended."

REP. DAVID DREIER, R-Glendora

2002 - "Saddam Hussein presents a clear and immediate threat to the safety of American citizens and our interests overseas."

2003 - "By June they are supposed to begin electing their own government and within two years have their constitution written. They now understand that we're not going to be there forever."

2004 - "We are making progress."

2006 - "We need to stay focused. We need to see this through."

2007 - "You cannot claim to support our troops without supporting their mission."

REP. BRAD SHERMAN, D-Sherman Oaks

2002 - "The best reason for passing this resolution is that it empowers the president of the United States ... (but) we need to give the president some guidance along with his authority."

2003 - "I think we can be confident that worldwide terrorist organizations will not be based in Iraq in the future."

2004 - "If the choice was between the aggressiveness of George Bush and the kumbaya of not doing anything at all, then I would have gone with the misplaced overaggressiveness of George Bush."

2007 - "The surge is a mistake."

REP. HOWARD BERMAN, D-Van Nuys

2002 - "We are dealing with a country ... that has violated resolution after resolution adopted by the Security Council of the United Nations ... To engage in acts to seek to assure compliance ... is not pre-emptive war ... it is the enforcement."

2003 - "Whatever one thinks of the wisdom of what we've done, I think it's pretty obvious that we can't simply pull out."

2004 - "I believed Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons and I believed he was pursuing a nuclear capability. That belief was a critical part of my decision."

2006 - "(After rejecting a timetable) I still have hope that we can accomplish (the) mission."

2007 - "This ain't gonna work. We're just sending more people there for a mission for which there is no evidence to think it will succeed."

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-Pasadena

2002 - "I'm still not convinced that the threat from Iraq is imminent enough to warrant war."

2004 - "If I knew then that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, I would not have supported the authorization."

2006 - "We need a new way forward in Iraq."

REP. HENRY WAXMAN, D-Los Angeles

2002 - "I agree with (the) conclusion that we cannot leave Saddam to continue his present course."

2003 - "The Bush administration's Iraq policy has been grounded in secrecy, deceit and politics. Some suspected that a year ago, I refused to believe it."

2005 - "The Bush administration's management of the reconstruction of Iraq has been fundamentally incompetent."

2007 - "We need to redeploy our troops and start our withdrawal."

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) GALLEGLY

(2 -- color) SHERMAN

(3 -- color) BERMAN

Box:

WHAT THEY SAID ... THEN AND NOW (see text)