By David Espo The Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Democrats relentlessly assailed President Bush’s policy in Iraq as a catastrophic failure yesterday as the House plunged into momentous debate on a war that has lost public support and cost more than 3,100 U.S. troops their lives. “No more blank checks,” declared Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“This battle is the most visible part of a global war” against terrorists, countered the Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner, hoping to limit GOP defections on what loomed as an extraordinary wartime rebuke to the commander in chief. “If we leave, they will follow us home. It’s that simple.”

The Democratic leadership set aside most of the week for the historic debate, expected to culminate in a vote on Friday on a bare-bones, nonbinding resolution that “disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush … to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.”

The 95-word measure adds that “Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States armed forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq.”

The debate was Congress’ first on Iraq since Democrats gained control of the House and Senate in midterm elections shadowed by voter opposition to the war. Decorum carried the day in the chamber as Democrats and Republicans took their five-minute speaking turns across the hours.

Passage was a virtually certainty. Democratic leaders said they expected no more than one or two members of their rank-and-file to oppose the resolution. Republicans said that despite quiet lobbying by the White House, they expected at least two dozen GOP lawmakers to swing behind the measure, suggesting that it would command the votes of at least 250 or 260 votes in the 435-member House.