By Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday a planned congressional resolution against President George W. Bush's U.S. troop increase in Iraq could send a signal to the world that America is divided on the war. Bush's "new way forward" for Iraq unveiled last week has faced heavy criticism from Democrats and skepticism -- if not outright opposition -- from many in the president's own Republican party. Plans are afoot in both the House of Representatives and Senate for non-binding resolutions rejecting Bush's plans to send 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq to help secure Baghdad and the restive Anbar province. "Does this send a signal that the United States is divided on the key element of success in Iraq?" White House spokesman Tony Snow said lawmakers needed to ask themselves. The goal for Democratic leaders of both houses will be to attract as many Republicans as possible. A large defection could make Bush look isolated politically. Bush pushed his plan in his second television interview in three days, and planned another pitch as part of his State of the Union speech next Tuesday. Speaking on PBS' "Newshour," Bush said a U.N. report that 34,000 Iraqis were killed violently last year sent a message that "we better help this government stop the sectarian violence." Bush acknowledged he gets frustrated on the issue of Iraq "because I understand the consequences of failure." "If I didn't believe we could keep the egg from fully cracking, I wouldn't ask 21,000 kids - additional kids to go into Iraq to reinforce those troops that are there," Bush said. He has an uphill battle in convincing Americans. A new poll by the Pew Research Center said 61 percent of Americans opposed his plan, while 31 percent favored it. SIGNAL TO TROOPS While most Republicans supported Bush's initiative, Democrats overwhelmingly opposed it, and a solid majority of Democrats, 62 percent, said Congress should try to block it by withholding funding for the additional troops, the poll found. Snow said a negative vote in Congress could send a bad signal to U.S. troops fighting in Iraq and said members of Congress need to think it through. He said a debate on the subject was welcome but that those opposing Bush's policy should offer an alternative plan. "In an age of instant and global communication, what message does it send to the people who are fighting democracy in Iraq, and also what message does it send to the troops?" Snow told reporters. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said he believed the House would pass a resolution expressing disapproval of the president's troop increase, but said the Senate was going to move first. Senate Democratic leaders have said they hope to get the resolution introduced later this week so the debate can take place next week. On a wind-swept terrace by a House office building, several active duty soldiers announced they were handing to Congress a petition with over 1,000 signatures of members of the military, calling for the United States to promptly withdraw its forces and bases from Iraq. The war was "unjustified, unwinnable and unconscionable" said 22-year-old Liam Madden, a sergeant in the U.S. Marines based at Quantico, Virginia. (Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria)
