WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that a congressional resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq amounts to undercutting U.S. commanders in a way that "emboldens the enemy."

He also said the Pentagon was now studying whether it could accelerate the deployment of the five additional Army brigades that it has announced will be sent to Baghdad between now and May to bolster security in the capital.

At his first Pentagon news conference since taking office Dec. 18, Gates was asked his reaction to the debate in Congress over the effect of such a nonbinding resolution. "It's pretty clear that a resolution that in effect says that the general going out to take command of the arena shouldn't have the resources he thinks he needs to be successful certainly emboldens the enemy and our adversaries," he said.

There was no immediate reaction from the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who was touring Iraq Friday. An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declined comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070126/..._st_pe/us_iraq