Two veteran liberals, Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and presidential hopeful Joseph Biden , D-Del., were among Democrats who said they were ready to accept the watered-down nonbinding measure as a first step.

Not so Dodd and Sen. Russell Feingold.

Feingold, D-Wis., issued a statement saying the measure "misunderstands the situation in Iraq and shortchanges our national security interests. The resolution rejects redeploying US troops and supports moving a misguided military strategy from one part of Iraq to another."

Two other presidential hopefuls remained silent on their plans. Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York both said they were undecided on whether to support the Warner measure. Both have called for binding legislation to force a change in policy toward Iraq.

Casey's comments marked a rarity, a four-star general pulling back the veil on high-level differences expressed in advance of a presidential decision.

The White House seemed unperturbed. "What General Casey was talking about is some suggestions he'd made earlier. The president has made his decision, and it does reflect the wisdom of a number of combatant commanders and it does have the assent of General Casey," said presidential spokesman Tony Snow.

Two Republicans on the committee expressed skepticism, though.

"I'm not certain five additional brigades in Baghdad and one more in Anbar province are sufficient to do the job," said McCain. "I am certain, however, that the job cannot be done with just two additional brigades, as you, General Casey, had advocated."

In response to one question, Casey said that he had asked Bush last year to approve two brigades of additional troops rather than the five that Gen. Petraeus later sought. "I did not want to bring one more American soldier into Iraq than was necessary to accomplish the mission," he said.

Sen. Susan Collins , R-Maine, returned to the issue later, noting that Casey had testified in favor of Bush's plan. "Doesn't that violate your principle, based on your earlier assessment that only two brigades are needed, that you should not send one more American soldier to Iraq than is necessary?"

Casey replied: "Not really, because as I said, in my mind, the other three brigades should be called forward after an assessment has been made of the situation on the ground and whether or not there has been success in the mission in the Baghdad area."

At his own confirmation hearing last month, Petraeus testified that he wanted all 21,500 troops moved "as rapidly as possible" into Iraq. Most would be charged with trying to stabilize Baghdad, while a few thousand would be dispatched to Anbar province in the western part of the country.

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