Concern Over Gulf Grows in Congress : Mideast crisis: Lawmakers from both parties fear Bush will send troops to war. They insist that such action requires their approval.

Concerned that President Bush may send U.S. troops to war in the Persian Gulf, some alarmed Democratic and Republican members of Congress began planning Monday to question his goals and challenge his authority to take offensive action without congressional approval.

Although Democratic members of Congress were the first to criticize Bush since he ordered a virtual doubling of U.S. forces in the region two days after the midterm election last week, several key Republicans also have raised questions about the President’s reasons for the buildup and complained that he had not consulted Congress sufficiently.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater, for his part, told the Associated Press on Monday that there may be “unforeseen kinds of provocations that might result in (the United States) having to move first” despite Bush’s intention of consulting with Congress “every step of the way.”

Fitzwater’s comments came on the eve of Senate caucuses by both parties today that are sure to debate the Administration’s plan to sharply increase the number of U.S. combat forces in the Persian Gulf so it will be ready to take the offensive, if necessary.

In addition, an apprehensive House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) has convened a large group of House Democrats to discuss the President’s controversial move.

Although there is no way to tell precisely what Congress as a whole thinks about Bush’s plans for the massive troop buildup, it is clear that the near-unanimous support for the deployment of American forces to Saudi Arabia has started to erode.

Some members seem to be confining their concern to whether or not Bush will consult them before launching offensive action. But others have began challenging his policy on a broader basis.

Congressional sources forecast that Democratic and Republican leaders will advise Bush directly at a White House meeting Wednesday to “cool it” and show more restraint in the tense situation following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait last Aug. 2.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has raised questions about the latest deployment decision, scheduled a news conference today to expand on his views.

Earlier, Rep. William S. Broomfield (R-Mich.), ranking GOP member of the House Foreign Affairs panel, had called on Bush to consult more widely with Congress on what Broomfield termed a “major policy change” in the confrontation with Iraq.

In another sign that an informal moratorium against open attacks on Bush’s gulf policy is over, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) charged Monday that the President cannot decide by himself whether to go to war against Iraq to liberate Kuwait or bring down Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“He has to have the Congress with him--that is the law,” Moynihan said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He added, “If George Bush wants his presidency to die in the Arabian desert, he’s going at it very steadily and as if it were a plan.”

Referring to the planned transfer of U.S. troops stationed in Europe to join the American force in the Saudi desert, Moynihan said: “It’s as if that great force that was created to fight the Cold War is at the President’s own disposal for any diversion he may wish, no matter what it costs. He will wreck our military, he will wreck his Administration and he’ll spoil a chance to get a collective security system working. It breaks the heart.”

Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) chided Bush for not taking leaders of Congress into his confidence on gulf strategy and for not justifying the need for greater forces.

“I don’t understand this gung-ho attitude about sending another 200,000 men over there and getting ready to invade,” Bumpers said in a telephone interview. “I don’t mind sharing the landing if we’re in on the takeoff, (but) . . . the President has a duty to notify most members of Congress before hostilities break out.”

At the White House, where Bush relaxed on a Veterans Day holiday by pitching horseshoes on a sunny November afternoon, Fitzwater said members of Congress were carrying out their duties by voicing their reactions.

“The Congress wants to be vigilant and, on top of this, urge caution all the way, and that’s appropriate,” Fitzwater said. “We have no intention of leaving Congress out. . . . He (Bush) will follow the constitutional requirements, and we would want to consult with the Congress every step of the way.

“But there always are those unforeseen kinds of provocations that might result in having to move first,” he added.

Fitzwater also expressed surprise that some Democrats were accusing Bush of rushing into war.

“Not a shot’s been fired,” he said. “What are these guys talking about?”

The gulf issue--seldom discussed during midterm election campaigns across the nation--was revived in the past few days as Bush ordered the big troop buildup and top Democrats in Congress criticized him for suggesting that the United States might have to move from a defensive posture in Saudi Arabia and attack Iraq.

Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations panel, both criticized the President’s apparent shift in strategy in television interviews Sunday.

“The last thing we need is to have a war over there, a bloody war, and have American boys being sent and brought back in body bags and yet not have the American people behind them,” Nunn said. Alluding to the Vietnam War, he added: “We’ve gone that route one time. We don’t need to do it again.”

“There’s a growing sense of disquiet,” one key Senate aide said. “The senators up for reelection talked to people, and there’s no war-hawk party out there.”

Only reluctance to give comfort to Hussein or undercut the possible psychological impact of a threat of force has muted congressional criticism so far, sources said.

Bush’s 69% approval rating on dealing with the gulf crisis may give lawmakers pause as they consider whether and how to criticize the President, according to sources close to the Democratic leadership in the House.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty, a lot of questions,” a Democratic staff aide said. “I think people want to wait for a while (before launching a U.S. attack). I don’t think anybody thinks we’ve reached the breaking point yet.”

Times staff writer David Lauter contributed to this story.