By David Morgan WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Under pressure to withdraw troops from Iraq, the White House this week will try to iron out differences among top U.S. officials over how large a force the U.S. military can sustain into next year, a key Republican senator said on Sunday. Sen. John Warner of Virginia, a leading Republican voice on military affairs, said discussions would include the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and focus on growing strains on the U.S. military by the continued deployment of more than 150,000 troops in Iraq. Two questions due to be addressed are how the large U.S. deployment is impacting America's all-volunteer military structure and whether the United States can confront potential troubles elsewhere in the world, particularly with ground forces, he said. "Clearly, we have a problem and we'd better solve it," said Warner, who called on President George W. Bush last week to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq to pressure Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki into taking new steps toward political reconciliation. "This week, I have learned, the Department of Defense and our field commanders in Iraq ... are going to sit down and communicate with the White House team and reconcile such difference of views and approaches as they have," Warner told NBC's "Meet the Press." "The team in Iraq wanted to stay there with the full force as long as they can, obviously. The team back home are looking at the broader picture." Neither White House nor Pentagon officials were immediately available for comment on Warner's remarks. The U.S. military currently has about 160,000 troops in Iraq, including 30,000 deployed as part of Bush's surge strategy for stabilizing Baghdad. The White House faces the prospect of new troop-withdrawal initiatives in Congress, as Washington awaits a crucial Sept. 15 report from Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, which could alter the course of U.S. policy in Iraq. The unpopular war has featured prominently in the early days of the 2008 U.S. presidential race. Democratic Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan, who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Hillary Clinton of New York, the leading Democratic candidate for president, have both called for Maliki to be replaced. Maliki on Sunday lashed out at Levin and Clinton for their "severe interference" in Iraqi domestic affairs, saying they were treating his country like "one of their villages." Warner, who is up for re-election next year, said the Pentagon could have to extend the tours of U.S. soldiers beyond a current 15-month term if it is to maintain current force levels in Iraq well into 2008.
