BEIJING, Jan. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Hours before U.S. President George W. Bush's speech on Iraq Thursday, several top lawmakers of the Democrats voiced their deep skepticism, saying they wanted "fuller explanation" on his new Iraq plan.

    "The president has basically said, 'First I need more troops, and then I'll craft a strategy to fit that need.' Well, first there ought to be a new strategy, and then the president can figure out how many troops are needed to fulfill this strategy," Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said at a Capitol news conference.

    Agreeing with Schumer, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said, "I'm sure he will dress up his rhetoric in words like 'new approach,' 'new beginning,' 'a new way forward.'"

    But, he added, "My fear is that this will not represent a change in strategy."

    Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, also said, "Before the president can expect the Congress and the American people to support his plan to risk thousands more American lives and commit billions in new spending, he must answer some essential questions."

    Among the questions, Emanuel said, they should include the mission of the new troops, the cost of sending them to Iraq, and how long they will stay there.

    "President Bush has an obligation to tell the American people how his new 'strategy' will diverge from his policies of the last three years," Emanuel stressed.

    But some Republican lawmakers said people should at least hear the speech before they judge it, although they also emphasized that Bush's strategy "must truly be a new one," and that it must go well beyond an increase in troop strength.

    (Agencies)