WASHINGTON — Sen. George Voinovich said Tuesday the U.S. should begin pulling troops out of Iraq, joining Richard Lugar as the second Republican lawmaker in as many days to suggest President Bush's war strategy is failing.

He said the Iraqi people must become more involved and "I don't think they'll get it until they know we're leaving."

The Ohio senator's remarks followed similar comments by Lugar, R-Ind., the previous night. The two GOP senators previously had expressed concerns about Bush's decision to send 30,000 extra troops to Iraq in a massive U.S.-led security push in Baghdad and Anbar province. But they had stopped short of saying U.S. troops should leave and declined to back Democratic legislation setting a deadline for troop withdrawals.

"We must not abandon our mission, but we must begin a transition where the Iraqi government and its neighbors play a larger role in stabilizing Iraq," Voinovich wrote in a letter to Bush.

Lugar and Voinovich said they were still not ready to insist on a timetable for withdrawal. But they both made it clear their patience was gone.

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U.S. commanders fear Iraqi forces cannot hold areas seized with American blood

BAGHDAD — American military commanders now seriously doubt that Iraqi security forces will be able to hold the ground that U.S. troops are fighting to clear — gloomy predictions that strike at the heart of Washington's key strategy to turn the tide in Iraq.

Several senior American officers have warned in recent days that Iraqi soldiers and police are still incapable of maintaining security on their own in the most crucial areas, including Baghdad and the recently reclaimed districts around Baqouba to the north.

Iraqi units are supposed to be moving into position to take the baton from the Pentagon. This was the backbone of the plan President Bush announced in January when he ordered to five more U.S. brigades, or about 30,000 soldiers, to Iraq. The goal is to reduce the violence to a level where the Iraqis can cope so that Americans can begin to go home.

But that outcome is looking ever more elusive. The fear is that U.S. troops will pay for territory with their lives — only to have Iraqi forces lose control once the Americans move on.

Unless Iraqis can step up, the United States will face tough choices in months ahead as pressure mounts in the Democratic-controlled Congress to draw down the nearly 160,000-strong U.S. force.

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Democrats plan amendment to restrict funds for vice president's office

WASHINGTON — House Democrats, responding to Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that his office is exempt from certain national security disclosure requirements, said Tuesday they will try to strip some of his funding.

A Cheney spokeswoman said the Democrats were just playing politics.

The proposal could come up Thursday as an amendment to an annual spending bill, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Cheney set off protests from Democrats when he declared that his office was exempt from sections of a presidential order that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify.

The White House said the order was not intended to treat either the president's or the vice president's office as an executive branch "agency." Only Cheney's office, however, has declined to comply with the order's requirements.

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Giuliani faults former President Clinton for 1990s response to terrorism

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday accused former President Clinton of not responding forcefully enough to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing or later terrorist attacks.

The former New York mayor criticized Democrats, accusing them of weakness and naivete in dealing with terrorism. Giuliani made the comments to about 650 business, corporate and political leaders at Regent University, the conservative Christian college founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

"Islamic terrorists killed more than 500 Americans before Sept. 11. Many people think the first attack on America was on Sept. 11, 2001. It was not. It was in 1993," said the former New York mayor.

Giuliani argued that Clinton treated the World Trade Center bombing as a criminal act instead of a terrorist attack, calling it "a big mistake" that emboldened other strikes on the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, in Kenya and Tanzania and later on the USS Cole while docked in Yemen in 2000.

"The United States government, then President Clinton, did not respond," Giuliani said. "(Osama) bin Laden declared war on us. We didn't hear it."

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Researchers say hot rocks below Earth's crust keeps most of N. America above sea

SALT LAKE CITY — If it weren't for the hot rocks down below Earth's crust, most of North America would be below sea level, report researchers who say the significance of Earth's internal heat has been overlooked.

Without it, mile-high Denver would be 727 feet below sea level, the scientists calculate, and New York City, more than a quarter-mile below. Los Angeles would be almost three-quarters of a mile beneath the Pacific.

In fact most of the United States would disappear, except for some major Western mountain ranges, according to research at the University of Utah.

"Researchers have failed to appreciate how heat makes rock in the continental crust and upper mantle expand to become less dense and more buoyant," said Derrick Hasterok, a graduate student in geology and geophysics.

Hasterok and his professor, David Chapman, published their findings in the June online issue of Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth.

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With 6 nominations, Beyonce is the favorite at BET Awards

LOS ANGELES — Beyonce was the undisputed leader heading into Tuesday's BET Awards. The 25-year-old singer-actress had a leading six nominations — twice as many as any other nominee, including female R&B artist, collaboration, video of the year and the viewers' choice award.

Jennifer Hudson, Ciara, Gnarls Barkley and Akon were all triple nominees, while a host of others — Ludacris, Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke, Mary Mary, Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, Corrine Bailey Rae and the late Gerald Levert — scored two nominations each.

But that wasn't all the star power expected at the Black Entertainment Television Awards at the Shrine Auditorium. Other celebrities on the guest list were Al Sharpton, Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard, Queen Latifah, D.L. Hugely and Rihanna.

Comedian Mo'Nique was picked for the third time to preside over a ceremony that includes planned performances by Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, 50 Cent, Diddy, Ciara and Usher.

"We bring together different eras and different genres of music," said Stephen Hill, executive producer of the BET Awards. "It feels like a family reunion."

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Dow Jones, News Corp. agree on protections for Wall Street Journal

NEW YORK — Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. agreed broadly on measures to protect the editorial independence of The Wall Street Journal under ownership by Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate, clearing away a major hurdle in the way of a deal, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Details of the agreement remained unclear, and any deal must still be approved by the full membership of Dow Jones' controlling shareholders, the Bancroft family, who initially rejected Murdoch's approach.

The family has since softened its opposition, but there appeared to be disagreements among the family's far-flung membership, which includes about three dozen adults in various parts of the country.

The person, who asked not to be named because the agreement was not yet public, said News Corp. and Dow Jones have agreed in principle on ways to ensure the Journal's independence, with some items yet to be decided. Both Dow Jones and News Corp. declined to comment.