An influential U.S. Senate Republican says President Bush should announce an initial withdrawal of troops from Iraq on September 15. Senator John Warner of Virginia made his comments to reporters Thursday, just days after visiting Iraq.

Senator Warner, a member and former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says he is recommending that President Bush announce the beginning of a troop withdrawal from Iraq on September 15 as a way to press the Iraqi government into taking steps toward political reconciliation.

"Take into consideration the need to send a sharp and clear message throughout the region, to the United States, and one that people can understand; I think [there is] no clearer form of that than for the president to announce on the 15th, that in consultation with senior military commanders, he has decided to initiate the first step in a withdrawal of our forces," said Senator Warner.