BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhuanet) -- One Republican senator on Sunday hinted impeachemnt of President George Bush over his war policy while another Republican senator was railing against House Democrats for setting an "artificial date" for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.  

    GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush¡¯s impeachment. But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against the war.

    "Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed -- if a president really believes that, then there are -- what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that," said Hagel, who is considering a 2008 presidential run.

    On Sunday, Hagel said he was bothered by Bush's apparent disregard of congressional sentiment on Iraq, such as his decision to send additional troops. He said lawmakers now stood ready to stand up to the president when necessary.

    "This is not a monarchy," he added, referring to the possibility that some lawmakers may seek impeachment. "There are ways to deal with it. And I would hope the president understands that."

    In the April edition of Esquire magazine, Hagel described Bush as someone who doesn't believe he's accountable to anyone.

    "He's not accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don't know. It depends on how this goes," Hagel told the magazine.

    Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss. said setting withdrawal dates is a futile and potentially dangerous exercise because Bush has made clear he will veto any such legislation.

    "There are members in the Senate in both parties that are not comfortable with how things have gone in Iraq," Lott said. "But they understand that artificial timetables, even as goals, are a problem. ...We will try to take out the arbitrary dates.

    "We need to put that kind of decision in the hands of our commanders who are there on the ground with the men and women.  For Congress to impose an artificial date of any kind is totally irresponsible."

    The Senate planned to begin debate Monday on a war spending bill that would set a nonbinding goal of March 31, 2008, for the removal of combat troops.

    That comes after the House narrowly passed a bill Friday that would pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year but would require that combat troops come home from Iraq before September 2008 -- or earlier if the Iraqi government did not meet certain requirements.

    (Agencies)